


Everyday Glory

by ImperialAxis



Series: Everyday Stories [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asexual Character, Asexual Ruby Rose (RWBY), Canon-Typical Violence, Cuddling, Depression, F/F, Fluff, Gender Dysphoria, Kink Negotiation, Multi, No enabler, Non-Sexual Petplay, Nonbinary Blake Belladonna, Nonbinary Character, Pollination, Polyamory, Post-Volume 3 (RWBY), Romance, Trans Female Character, Trans Weiss Schnee, no fall of beacon, nobody is straight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:47:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 101,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23616211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImperialAxis/pseuds/ImperialAxis
Summary: An extremely queer AU where the fall of Beacon is avoided. But of course, Salem's plans move ever onward and teams RWBY and JNPR must continue to grow, both as hunters and as people, in order to defend the world and the people they hold dear.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long
Series: Everyday Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757968
Comments: 259
Kudos: 206





	1. Changes

_I'm moving through some changes  
I'll never be the same  
Something you did touched me  
There's no one else to blame_

-Yes, Changes

The thing that woke Weiss up the day after the Vytal Festival Tournament was a gunshot. Immediately followed by the thud of Yang’s fist connecting with her sister’s head and sending poor Ruby tumbling away from the desk at which she had been tinkering with Crescent Rose. 

“Rubes, I know that tinkering is how you calm down but inside of our dorm room is seriously not the place. You woke up your partner and you could have put a bullet hole in something or someone important, please put Crescent Rose away.” 

Weiss yawned cavernously as she tried to at least sit up in her bed to check the clock. “How long have I been asleep?” It was already noon, an incredibly uncommon deviation from her typical habits of waking up early to prepare tea and study. 

Blake shrugged as she munched on a sandwich with her legs hanging off her bunk. “I think that we got back from the tournament at about midnight, you certainly looked like you needed sleep the most.”

Yang’s continued scolding of Ruby continued in the background of Weiss’ thoughts as she started processing the events of the previous day. How her hunch about Emerald’s semblance had been right, and the warning to Pyrrha that had probably saved Penny’s life, or even the entire city. After the incident where Yang attacked Mercury, it was she had considered whether some outside influence had been involved and only because she was so very desperate to not think about herself right now that she had concentrated on the strange incident where the person Emerald had fought called out to their teammate and from then on concentrated on figuring out what her semblance might be. 

And speaking of things she didn’t want to think about, what the hell was up with Cinder’s team wanting to do something that could destroy all of Beacon anyway? It was honestly almost too fucked up to consider but what else could have possibly been accomplished by what they seemed to be doing?

“...okay?” a poke on the arm from Ruby brought Weiss out of her reverie and back into the world of the waking.

“Right, yes, just, distracted” her stomach audibly growled. “I had best eat.”

Blake reached behind her and tossed Weiss a cling wrapped sandwich that hit her arm and fell onto her sheets. “Yang picked these up from the cafeteria, food’s takeout for now because the school doesn’t want too many rumors spreading about what went down last night. At some point we’re apparently going to get answers from Headmaster Ozpin since we’re pretty much involved in whatever is going on now.” 

Weiss nodded a bit vacantly as she unwrapped the simple turkey sandwich and lethargically ate it. She really needed to tell her team soon then, before they got dragged before the headmaster. She really should just do it as soon as she finished eating. Should get on with it and rip the band-aid off. 

Except that that was a bad analogy, it implied that things as they were now didn’t hurt, that she didn’t feel like massive aspects of her entire life had started to feel like they were leaving a thousand paper cuts all over her heart, failed to capture that what she was about to do felt more like holding a live autopsy so that people could understand that the things they were doing were hurting her. And if they wanted in that moment they could just hurt her more than anything that had come before. She trusted her teammates with her life, had fought grimm with them plenty of times, but still, she was terrified of what could happen.

The last bite of her sandwich left her throat dry, for reasons beyond it’s dry, dense bread. She nervously swallowed the lump in her throat and somehow found her voice. “I need to call a team meeting, there’s something I have to say, it’s serious.” Her heart was beating in her head and she felt like she might die. She was a bit concerned that she might end up dead if this went poorly.

It didn’t take long for each of them to nervously pull up a chair, they had probably already noticed her distress. For a moment they all sat there, a heavy atmosphere permeating the room as their attention was drawn entirely to Weiss. 

Yang was the first to break the nervous silence. “It’s okay, we’re here for no matter what, you’re our teammate Walter.”

She must have noticeably grimaced at the end of that sentence, though the intention behind it helped a great deal to remove the lump in Weiss’ throat that formed whenever she attempted to say what needed to be said. “I’m trans and my name is Weiss.”

Dead silence stretched on for what felt like eternity, though based on her team’s reaction was likely on a second or two. At some point Weiss had closed her eyes in fear of her teammate’s reactions and only when Yang’s uproarious laughter pierced the fog of stress in her mind did she open them again. 

Yang was seriously cackling like a maniac, her entire body bent over in her chair as Ruby and Blake stared at her. After a moment she finally managed to breathe out between chuckles. “I’m sorry I’m sure this is really stressful for you but I always thought you kind of resembled an icicle and now I can call you Weissicile and I just can not.” 

At first Weiss tried to glare but she quickly devolved into a fit of giggles as well. “Damn you Yang Xiao Long, you’ve ruined my coming out with a pun.” 

Blake simply let out a long, disappointed sigh, but her twitching ears told another story. 

Ruby seemed too distracted by her own thoughts to respond to the situation, and Weiss could have sworn she heard her muttering “this explains so much” to herself. 

Eventually, Yang managed to calm down and when she did she turned back to Weiss. “Seriously though, congratulations, and welcome to the community. We’ve got your back, no matter what.” 

“What community?”

“The queer community, duh. What, did you think I was straight or some shit?” Yang aggressively flexed her biceps and gave Weiss a flirtatious wink. 

“Yeah! And I’m asexual, or something, it’s a bit of a mess.” Ruby took mercy on Weiss by butting in, providing her with the time she needed to remember how to form words again and to retrieve her jaw from the floor. 

Blake took an audible deep breath. “Well then, since it seems like everyone is coming out right now anyway, I’m bi." She took a deep breath and continued "also, I’ve realized that I’m nonbinary, and prefer they/them. Do you use she/her Weiss?” 

Weiss nodded in affirmation. She was utter shocked by the unquestioning support of her team. It was more than she could have ever imagined. The room positively reeked of abundant love and support and she felt a way she hadn't felt since her early childhood, when her father had still pretended to be a good man and her mother's drinking was more moderate. She felt safe and loved.

It looked like Blake and Yang were hugging, but everything was kinda blurry, why was it blurry? Something warm and soft wrapped around her and she realized that she was crying and Ruby had come in for a hug. She hugged back tight.

For a while all of team RWBY just stayed like that, hugging and occasionally sniffing, everyone far too comfortable and warm to leave their respective embraces. 

Eventually it was ended by a knock at the door and the sound of Jaune’s voice. “Guys, Headmaster Ozpin called us in to talk with him about the festival.” The only thing he managed to elicit was a collective groan.

Ruby was the first to force herself to stand up. “Okay c’mon everybody, we gotta go. Weiss, Blake, do we need to keep what you’ve just told us within the team?”

Blake shook her head. “Go ahead and let people know.” 

Weiss had to think for a moment. Coming out to faculty and other students was still an intimidating prospect, but with her team at her back she felt like even if something went horribly wrong there would be people there for her no matter what. “I’ll go ahead and tell Ozpin and team JNPR once we’re all in the same room, after that it’s open information to anyone on campus, but no matter what, my...” her voice cracked “my father can’t find out.”

A strong hand took hers and pulled her up from her bunk. “C’mon Weissicile, you’re gonna be okay.”

She smiled at Yang, just a little, and held onto her proffered hand for just a moment longer than necessary. “I know.”

Ruby opened the door, and Jaune’s reaction as he saw everyone was immediate awkwardness. “Oh, uh, sorry to interrupt but seriously this can’t wait you know.” 

“Hmmm?” Weiss looked around the room and realized that Blake had clearly cried too, in fact she had still been holding Yang’s hand and it was probably also obvious she had cried. She let go of Yang. “Don’t get any foolish ideas Jaune, you will find out soon enough.” 

“Alright, let’s go go go!” A storm of rose petals spurred team RWBY out of their dorm and into the hallway with the rest of team JNPR. As they walked to Ozpin’s office, a few conversations of varying intensity formed, most of them about what was going on. Weiss and Blake naturally split off to the back of the group, wanting to avoid conversation with those they hadn’t come out to yet.

“Here.” Blake handed Weiss her scroll open to the ID of one hotCoco on Fracture, the group messaging and voice chat app teams tended to use. 

“Who’s this?”

“It’s Coco’s username.”

“And why are you sharing it with me?” It was probably noticeable how annoyed she was by their lack of explanation.

Blake rolled her eyes. “She’s basically the campus Elder Queer, if anyone messes with you she will rain down her holy vengeance upon them, and if you ask her for help or advice in good faith you’ll probably get it.” 

“I see, thank you. I'm sorry for snapping” Weiss softened a bit. She needed to be more patient.

They just smiled at her. "Don't worry about it."

She sent Coco a friend request, though only after changing her username to Weissicle. Right when she finished they reached the elevator to Ozpin’s office and she put away her scroll to accommodate the comparatively close quarters. 

The light mood that had followed the meeting of the two teams faded into ominous silence as the elevator approached Ozpin’s office.

With an inappropriately upbeat ding, the doors opened and all eight of them shuffled into Ozpin’s office. Inside awaited not only Ozpin, but also Professor Goodwitch and Qrow. It was something of a shock for Weiss to see Qrow and Ruby in the same room and Qrow not be hug-tackled, but such were the circumstances.

Ozpin stood looking down over Beacon, his hands clasped behind his back. “I have called you here today to explain a very important matter regarding all of Remnant. In a sense you could say that I am recruiting you to fight in a secret war that has lasted for hundreds of years. If you do not wish for such a heavy responsibility to be placed on you, I encourage you to leave before you learn things that cannot be unlearned.”

After a moment's pause, Ruby stepped forward. “We came here to be huntsmen sir, just because there’s more at stake than we expected there to be doesn’t mean we’re going to give up, it’s all the more reason to fight harder than ever.” 

“And is that how all of you feel?” Ozpin turned around, he looked sad, almost tired. Determined nods greeted him. “Very well then. First of all, there exists a group of people who deliberately wish to destroy all of Remnant. And I do not refer to the White Fang as run by Adam Tarus, they are merely being used as a tool by the true enemy. There is a being who orchestrates everything from the shadows. Salem. I believe that she was once human, but whether she is still is doubtful. Had her plans succeeded Beacon would have been destroyed by Grimm. I have no doubt thousands would have died and the global repercussions would have been terrible.

“As it is, the current status is that General Ironwoods forces took some heavy losses fighting both the White Fang and some grimm that they cleared the way into the city for, though doubtless far fewer grimm than would have been attracted if the plan of theose intruders had succeeded. Walter, it is thanks to your careful deduction that we were able to quickly and quietly evacuate Amity Arena and that we knew to expect trouble, you truly did a wonderful thing.” 

Weiss flinched at the mention of that name. It was enough to motivate her to interject, she wasn’t going to wait until the end of this explanation for people to call her by her name. “Actually sir, my name isn’t Walter, it’s Weiss. I’m transgender, my pronouns are she/her.” 

Nora whooped, fist pumped, and then started clapping. “Called it! Seriously though, congratulations Shinji.” 

Weiss gave an exaggerated sigh as she rubbed her brow. “Why is it that my supposed friends keep ruining this moment with jokes.” She still couldn't help a slight smile as she pretended to glare at Nora. They just kept supporting her. It was almost overwhelming.

“Ahem.” Everyone jumped a little as Ozpin cleared his throat. “Congratulations indeed, but at the moment we do need to focus on the matter at hand. Though there is more to explain, does anyone have questions about what I’ve told you so far?”

This time it was Jaune who spoke up. “Why does this person want to destroy civilization? What could anyone possibly gain from that.”

“Salem is immortal. Perhaps she is somehow cursed and her machinations are performed to bring about her own death, perhaps she is simply that malicious due to some grudge. I have no meaningful knowledge, I can only guess.” 

Pyrrha was the next. “Why is it that Beacon students were evacuated instead of helping to fight the grimm and White Fang?” 

“The White Fang are known to fight to the death, I cannot in good conscience let students such as yourselves into a situation where you may need to kill other people.”

“When... when my mom went on that mission that she never came back from, was it related to all this? This fate of the world stuff?” Weiss could see her team leader holding back tears and she carefully gave Ruby’s hand a squeeze. It wrapped around hers and didn’t let go.

Ozpin lowered his head, almost as if he was ashamed. “She never told anyone what she was doing, but for it to be important and dangerous enough for her to not come back, yes, most likely.” The grip on Weiss’ hand was starting to hurt a little.

“I understand.” Ruby nodded solemnly to Ozpin.

“If there are no more questions, one final part of this puzzle exists. First of all, are each of you familiar with the story of the Four Maidens?” Nods. “They’re real, and so is their magic. Not dust, not a semblance, the creation of something from nothing. Every time a maiden dies, the power is passed on either to the person they are thinking about when they die, or to someone eligible in the world at random. Young women are the only ones who can gain that power. Last night, the Fall maiden died of wounds given to her by Cinder Fall, if that is her real name. We have no way of knowing whether her power ended up in Cinders hands as she and her accomplices retreated upon seeing Pyrrha surrender in her fight against Penny.”

“Furthermore, each maiden’s power is the key to unlocking one of four vaults, located at each of the hunter academies in the four kingdoms, containing immensely powerful artifacts. As an example of how powerful they are, the artifact protected by Atlas Academy is solely responsible for holding the city aloft. My understanding is that the acquisition of these four is likely Salem’s ultimate goal. If the power of the Fall maiden went to Cinder, her efforts to destroy Beacon may become even more direct than they were before. If not, I believe that she will turn her attention to Mistral, as she already knows where to find the Spring Maiden. When we discover one way or the other, I will inform you, and I may arrange for you to attend Haven Academy. Until then, all we can do is wait, and prepare.” 

Even Nora was stunned into silence. 

“Are there any further questions? No? Well then you are free to return to your dorms, as I am sure all of you need rest after this series of events, and please do make use of counseling services should you need them, though of course nobody beyond this room can know what I’ve just told you. Oh, and Miss Schnee, please stay a moment, as I would like to speak with you about logistics.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is all of the knowing of things by people the same as in canon? Probably not, because I am enjoying writing this way too much to take a break to rewatch season 3.


	2. Group therapy movie night begin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I have been seriously blazing through this story so far, I think I wrote most of this chapter in the time after I posted chapter 1, because it took me a bit of progress through this bit to realize, oh hey that should just be chapter 1 because I want to be able to use HTML in this so no line breaks. Also I should have gone to sleep like two hours ago but there probably aren't too many typos

_Carry all those phantoms  
Through bitter wind and stormy skies  
From the desert to the mountain  
From the lowest low to the highest high  
Like a ghost rider_  
-Rush, Ghost Rider

Blake was completely stuck in their head as they shuffled into the elevator with team JNPR, Yang, and Ruby. That was a lot of information. Magic, evil, the near fall of Beacon. They made a deliberate effort to stop thinking about it. Instead they listened more closely to Yang’s conversation with Ren and Nora. 

“Why exactly is it that Ren owes you 400 lien?” The brawler seemed to be interrogating them.

“Ren runs the school gambling ring, I bet 100 lien that Weiss was trans and his odds were four to one.” 

Ren nodded. “For someone with very little social awareness, Nora is surprisingly good at knowing people’s gender and orientation before they do.” 

“So what were the odds on me being nonbinary?” 

Nora fist pumped vigorously despite the confined space as Ren facepalmed. “Theydar strikes again baby!” 

Oh yeah, they hadn’t actually mentioned it to JNPR yet. They reminded themself to send an email to their teachers later. 

Yang frowned in confusion. “I think I should be pissed off by this but I can’t really bring myself to be.”

Ruby shrugged. “I guess since we know Ren’s cool it should be harmless? Like if some random cishet was out and about running a betting pool about my sexuality I’d be pretty mad, but I’m guessing Ren vets people when it comes to that subject, and I trust him.” 

Meanwhile Jaune was just sort of staring at them all with his perpetually confused puppy dog eyes. “Uh, what’s nonbinary?” 

Pyrrha led him out of the elevator with a gentle smile on her face. “Don’t worry, I’ll give him The Talk in our dorm.”

Nora sent them off with a cheery wave as the remaining students meandered back at a more casual pace. “Guess we’ll be hanging around your place for a few hours. When Pyrrha gives an introductory lecture she doesn’t hold back. Plus if Jaune does a good job I bet he’s getting a blow job.” 

Blake, Yang and Ruby responded in perfect unison. “Ewwwwww.”

The rest of the way back to their dorms, Blake kept behind everyone else. The day's revelations kept playing over and over in their head. It was distressing, all of it. If the White Fang was still a threat, Adam must be out there still, if magic is real, everything she thought she knew about the world around her could be wrong. And now there was some kind of existential threat to everyone on Remnant. 

At some point Yang must have noticed them being lost in their head, because she poked them on the cheek. “Hey.”

Looking up from the floor, Blake realized that they had reached their dorms and the others had already gone in. “Hey yourself.” 

“Are you okay?”

They had to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the notion. “No. You?”

“Ditto.” Yang made finger guns, but they were bent, tired and she couldn’t seem to bring herself to fire them. 

With nothing more to say, Blake went inside. Ren and Nora were clearly growing fatigued as well. The only remaining person in the team RWBY dorm with a light in their eyes was their intrepid leader, most likely because she was rapidly stuffing her face with her emergency cookie supply. 

At their entrance however, Ruby seemed to pull herself together. She put away the cookie jar and entered into an exaggerated imposing stance, with her arms crossed and her neck sticking forward like a chicken. “Alright, that’s it! I’m not letting my friends mope around all day now that things are dark, dangerous, scary, and intimidating, everyone in this room is going to repress their existential dread and replace it with being mad at each other because we are playing some board games and that’s an order damnit. And then, once Jaune and Pyrrha get back, we’re holding a combination movie night and group therapy session until everybody is feeling better.” Ruby dramatically slammed the stack of communal board games down on the table, pushing off a collection of notebooks, paper, and writing utensils in the process. “Pick something out for six people while I let Jaune and Pyrrha know.” 

Blake was a little awestruck. Ruby’s ability to read the room and cheer people up just by being her own wonderful self surprised them almost every time. They had a weird urge to give her a hug, but instead they remembered what Nora had previously said about the pair currently in the room across the hall. 

“Actually I’ll go ahead and let them know, I don’t really care what game we play anyway.” Being near the door, Blake managed to slip out before anyone could object. They slid across the hall and knocked loudly. “You guys got a minute?”

“Uh yeah, what’s up Blake?” Pyrrha called back.

They cracked open the door. Pyrrha stood at a whiteboard currently covered in a number of pride flags with a riding crop in hand. “There’s going to be a mandatory movie night and group therapy session once you’re done teaching Jaune, it may last a while.” 

“That’s a fantastic idea.” She went back to lecturing Jaune. 

Blake, having returned from their incredibly dangerous mission unscathed, decided to sit out the first game of Secret Hitler in favor of sharing the good news of the day with Coco. 

**CatNapper:Holy crap Coco I finally did it  
hotCoco:Dope! How’d it go?  
CatNapper:Well it sort of ended up happening after Weiss came out and then Ruby and Yang both did to reassure her  
hotCoco:Oh damn so that’s who this Weiss is. You are referring to the W in RWBY yes?  
CatNapper: yeah, yeah, has she not talked to you yet? I gave her your info  
hotCoco: nope, friend request and radio silence, though I am impressed by her new username, she never struck me as being that punny  
CatNapper:new username?**

Blake started cracking up. “Holy shit, Yang, get out your scroll and look at Weiss’ new username on Fracture.” 

**CatNapper: o,g tgats whst Rang callrd jer  
hotCoco: Blake are you okay?  
CatNapper: laghning, can’t stop  
CatNapper:That’s what Yang called her right after she came out, and she actually laughed then too  
hotCoco:my condolences, Yang’s puns appear to be breaking even the strongest of wills  
CatNapper:gods she can break my will any day  
hotCoco:...  
hotCoco: if you’re going to be thirsty do it at the girl you have a crush on and not at me, who is in a very happy and committed relationship(not actually mad)  
CatNapper:okay, okay, oh gtg Hitler got shot and I’m gonna hop in on the next round. Turned out to be Yang, big surprise**

Hopping out of their bed in excitement, Blake looked around. “Is Weiss not back yet?” A heartbeat later the door opened to reveal Weiss, looking somehow paler than usual, as well as dearly tired. 

“Speak of the ice queen.” Yang grinned and pointed at Weiss.

Weiss sighed in Yang’s general direction. “I have cut Grimm in half, I have seen myself and my friends bleeding from serious wounds on a variety of occasions, midnight strolls, and grimm hunts, and yet today I have discovered that getting blood drawn is a fate far worse than any exsanguination at the hands of wild boar or grimm. I am taking a nap, wake me up when my breast mints get here.” With one final groan, Weiss flopped into her bed.

Ruby looked down at her chest hopefully. “Are those a real thing?” 

“She’s referring to HRT, which is probably why she took so long and why she had her blood drawn.” Blake took a party envelope and a seat at the table. 

The next hour or so passed quickly, aided as it was by plentiful good-natured hatred, mistrust, and the shooting of fascists, which Weiss somehow managed to sleep through. 

Upon the return of Jaune and Pyhrra, who both seemed suspiciously happy for the circumstances, Blake ended up tasked with waking up and moving the sleeping Weiss into the study room in which they were going to abuse the school provided projector. And yet, when Blake got up to do it they found that they couldn’t. Weiss looked _happy,_ her arms were wrapped around her torso as she lay on her back with a sweet smile on her face. It was at that moment that Blake realized Weiss was actually kind of adorable when she smiled. 

Then a terrible idea went through their mind. Hmmmm. They probably shouldn’t, but they also really wanted to protect this precious smile that they had only even seen Weiss have when she slept.

With a deep sigh at their own foolishness, Blake put one arm around the bend in Weiss’ knees, another around her torso, and lifted her into a princess carry. Weiss’ eyes fluttered in confusion for a moment as her head tilted to point towards Blake, then upon seeming to recognise her, she snuggled into the carry and seemed to fall back asleep. Blake’s heart skipped a beat. This was not why they had expected this to be a terrible idea.

At some point on the way to their reserved study room Weiss started waking up properly, but she never made a move to get up, only stared at Blake with a mixture of confusion and happiness. 

Blake had expected to need to put Weiss down to open the door to the study room, but no, she simply opened the door for them, which instantly elicited a sharp whistle from Yang. “Looks like somebody brought Weisscream.”

“Oh sweet! Such a great snack to eat while watching a movie, almost as good as pancakes, but I hope Blake doesn’t try to keep her to themself.”

“The way you go at the stuff Nora there’s no way it would have time to melt into a rainbow colored puddle.”

By the time Nora and Yang’s heckling had subsided Blake and Weiss were both blushing and had made a point to sit on the outsides of the team RWBY couch, with Yang and Ruby separating them. 

Pyrrha frowned. “Hey, you two need to tone down the heckling, you’ve clearly bothered them. I know that it’s all fun and games when you’re letting people talk back but playing off of each other like that is too much for most people.” 

Both of them became immediately mortified. Blake had actually enjoyed it in a way. Oh no, that’s another thing they didn’t really need to be discovering about themself today. “It was a bit much, but I’m okay, are you alright Weiss.” They gave Yang’s arm a touch to reassure her, while Ren patted Nora’s head. 

The view they got when they leaned forward to look at Weiss around Ruby and Yang’s bodies however indicated that Weiss was definitely not okay. Her eyes were distant and there were tears forming in them. “Wh-when I was growing up, I never really had very much close contact with people. For at least the last ten years the only time I’ve experienced any form of physical has either been handshakes with vacuous nobles, or... or...” The tears came out without a single sound, and Weiss continued on through them. “What I’m trying to say is, ever since this morning you three have been initiating a lot of emotionally intimate, platonic physical contact with me, and it really means a lot to me, and being teased about this thing that I’m only just realizing I can have really hurts.”

Ruby immediately wrapped herself around Weiss in a full body hug, even going so far as to wrap her cape protectively around her partner. Nora and Yang could both be heard sniffling and were comforted in turn by Blake and Ren. 

Jaune, who was beginning to ooze awkwardness, got up and took it upon himself to get the movie started. “So guys what movie are we going to watch tonight?”

The following descent into chaos and nerdom as they attempted to figure out what movie would be both situationally relevant and ironic was enough to draw both most affected parties out of their downcast mood, and the others seemed to be well comforted by the hugs that at some point turned into full-on cuddling. They eventually managed to come up with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. 

“Salem, Sauron. Grimm, orcs, the parallels are totally there.” Nora sounded rather proud of her literary analysis.

“Isn’t that like ten hours long though? It’s already late afternoon.” Blake didn’t really mind that much, they were quite happy to be Yang’s little spoon for the next ten hours, but still, homework was fairly important.

Jaune was able to settle things, and in doing so brought great joy to Blake’s poor bi heart. “Actually, I forgot to mention Ozpin sent me an email saying that we’re free to take as many days this week off classes as we need for our mental health.”

“Hell yeah! No class for a week.” Yang gave Ruby a high five.

“Yang Xiao Long, if you neglect your studies for an entire week for frivolous or nefarious reasons I will personally see to it that you learn the material extensively, by force if necessary.”

“Threatening me with a good time are you Weiss?”

“I was under the impression that you dislike studying.”

“Studying I hate, yes. But getting beat up by pretty girls? All day and every day babe.”

The raw energy of gay panic in the sounds made by Weiss Schnee that day lead every single person in that room to later recall it as the single least composed moment she had ever experienced. Blake thoroughly enjoyed them. Truly no words can describe in full scope the refined, noble woman who for an instant in time became the personification of a keysmash. Jaune, merciful deity that he was, thereafter hurried the hell up with getting the movie started.

And somewhere in the middle of it all, between Yang’s strong arms wrapped around them, the smell of her that filled their nose, and the gentle warmth that seemed to constantly leak from her body, Blake drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the joke version of that last paragraph that my addled mind found hilarious: And somewhere in the middle of it all, between Yang’s strong arms wrapped around them, the smell of her that filled their nose, and the the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes, when he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin.


	3. The man behind the mask

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get into the actual therapy of combination movie and group therapy night  
> Cw: mentions of abuse (Blake's backstory)

_All illness can be healed, the cell regenerates  
Disambiguated situation  
There is a secret code, the structure of the mind  
You have the power to heal yourself_  
-Gojira, ESOTERIC SURGERY

 _“Holy shit.”_ Yang’s whispered expression of awe was lost amongst the sounds of dying orcs that filled the room, as was it’s cause. Blake seemed to have fallen asleep in her arms, and now they were _purring._ Not just a little bit of purring either, it felt like there was a chainsaw motor running on her chest and she wouldn’t stop it for the world. 

As such, Yang spent the entire latter quarter of The Fellowship of the Ring in heaven. Even if she was desperately hungry, she didn’t dare move, lest she end the moment or disturb Blake’s slumber. Perhaps the most concerning thing about her state of mind was that in that moment, it didn’t even bother her that Blake had the audacity to nap through a portion of one of the best film trilogies of all time. 

Eventually however the movie had to end, and there followed a collective groaning and stretching as eight people woke themselves up from a mixture of stress naps and comfortable cuddles with their teammates. At some point someone ordered pizza. This left Yang simply lying on the couch in a stupor, far too gay to function. 

Yang still felt like she was dreaming as she watched Blake stretch themselves after having gotten up. “Blake, you were purring.” 

They straightened out quickly with a noise that could be said to resemble a surprised cat and an instantaneous blush. “I, what?” 

“You, Blake Belladonna, were purring while you napped in my arms, and it was adorable.” Yang made sure to say it loud enough that the entire room heard it, which prompted a polite round of applause from Ren and Pyrrha. 

“Yang, I swear if this is another one of your cat jokes-”

“No! No, Blake, I swear I’m not messing with you right now, or trying to do something mean, I just wanted to express that it was...” Yang lost the words she had been about to use. “It was really cool.”

They just sort of stood there for a moment, then deliberately turned away from Yang. “I see.”

Oh no. Yang rushed to get up and speak with them more personally. “Blake, are you okay?” She tried to put a hand on their shoulder but they dodged it. 

They turned back to face them, but they were clearly shutting themself off from her. “It’s okay, I’m not mad at you, I just need to think about some stuff now, and cool off from my initial impression of what you were doing. Just, give me a little space. Okay?”

Fucking hell. She’d done it again. Twice in one evening. Why the hell did she keep hurting her teammates like this? Thinking of which, she still hadn't apologized to Weiss. She’d been so self-absorbed in her guilt that she had just sat there while Weiss cried because of her, and then she had the nerve to spend a long time taking comfort in Blake’s company, only to screw it up again. 

No Yang. Bad. Stop wallowing in self-pity and just apologize to Weiss already. 

Yang walked up to the group of Ren, Nora, Weiss and Ruby just in time to see Weiss glaring at Nora in a mix of confusion and indignation. “You made a bet with Ren that I was trans two weeks after classes started? How? I didn’t even know at that point!” 

“What can I say? It’s a gift, or perhaps my power is simply beyond your mortal comprehension.” Nora cackled like the Wicked Witch of the West. “Begone! Or I will use my mystical prowess to turn you into a frog.” 

“Hey now, if you’re going to turn Weiss into a frog I need to borrow her for a moment first.” Yang stepped in and motioned to Weiss to form a separate conversation with her. 

Weiss obliged her with a shrug and a raised eyebrow. “What’s up Yang?” 

“I want to apologize for what I said when you and Blake came in, it was awful of me and I promise I won’t do it again.” Yang’s head hung about like a wreath, avoiding looking Weiss in the eye.

“Hey, look at me.” Weiss took one of her hands between both of hers and Yang looked up to meet her eyes. They were the same soft blue as always. “It’s okay Yang, you had no reason to expect that something like that might be especially hurtful to me. Furthermore, your previous comment and your continued support are more than enough to make up for your mistake.”

“Oh really? You like it when I flirt with you do you?” Her cocky grin managed to immediately reassert itself and this time it was Weiss who couldn’t look the other in the eye.

“I will admit that I find the acknowledgement of my femininity most validating. However I assure you that I could never be wooed by one so utterly uncouth as yourself, so you had best refrain from getting any ideas that it means anything. That does not, however, mean that you should stop.”

“Weiss, you just admitted that you want me to flirt with you more and yet somehow that is the single most tsundere thing you have ever said.” 

“Do not be preposterous Yang, I am not a tsundere, nor in fact any kind of -dere at all.”

“Ohhoho no, I see through you Schnee. The more formally you speak, the more embarrassed you are. Besides, you’re the one who brought up wooing.”

“I refuse to continue this conversation when you are so clearly determined to paint me as some sort of caricature.” Weiss spun around on her heel and left, but not before her stony expression broke into a smile. 

While Yang was still deciding who to hang out with now that Weiss had made her tactical retreat, her attention was instead drawn to Jaune's declaration of “pizza’s here,” which led her to realize she hadn’t eaten in a good seven hours. The rush that followed was executed cleanly enough that no one was injured, as Jaune had had the foresight to get them six large pizzas and two big trays of brownies. Nora claimed two of the pizzas and Ruby took a brownie tray, which left everyone else an actually reasonable amount of food to eat. 

At some point the couches had been rearranged so that they were facing each other rather than the projection wall and Yang settled into one with a sigh as she started munching on her pizza. She had never really liked therapy, even if she had to privately admit that now was certainly a time she needed it. They all probably did. The room ended up being split with team JNPR on one couch and team RWBY on the other, though Blake actually ended up behind the couch, pacing restlessly as they ate. 

After giving everyone a few minutes to eat and get comfortable, Pyrrha took the initiative. “So, I think it would be best to have Jaune be in charge of the discussion.” This prompted a double take from most of the room, including Jaune himself.

“Wait what, why me?”

“Dear, you are probably the least traumatized and most emotionally stable person in this room.”

“But I’m not traumatized at all.”

This prompted a round of gasps and confused stares . “Is that even possible?” Yang realized a moment after she said it that she was only half joking.

Jaune sheepishly scratched his head. “I’m sitting right here, so I guess it must be. I guess if y’all are alright with that then I could sort of lead us through this. I’m not really sure what to do though.” 

Out of the corner of her eye Yang could tell that her sister was pouting. “I’m not either.” Yang didn’t have the heart to correct her.

Pyrrha affectionately ruffled his hair and reassured him. “I’m sure you’ll do fine, you’re already more than kind and compassionate enough.”

“Okay, okay, I believe you, but no flirting, this is serious.” Jaune was grinning anyway. Pyrrha respectfully withdrew her hand. “So, does anyone have anything they want to start with?” 

Well... there’s something I feel like I need to tell everyone.” Blake paced back to the front of the couch and took a seat at the end, deliberately avoiding contact with Yang, which prompted her to scooch closer to Weiss on her other side. “I already told all of you that I was in the White Fang, but I was a little bit more than just another member. They were supposed to be a peaceful organization. My parents were some of the founders, I helped them for a long time growing up. We did good things, communal aid, peaceful protests. Then when I was fourteen they retired and moved to Menagerie. They wanted me to come with them, but Faunus were still treated so terribly in the Kingdoms, and I didn’t want to leave when there was still so much to do. In the end someone I knew convinced me to stay.” Their entire body shuddered, once, violently.

“H-his name was Adam Tarus. He was very charismatic, and skilled. He rose through the ranks pretty quickly, and he took me under his wing. He was an incredible leader for a while. He had this way of giving speeches, he preached anarchist theory, and he communicated Marxist-Lenninist ideas in a way that people could understand them. But after a while, it stopped being about liberation and equality.” Blake curled into the fetal position and their voice gradually started becoming weaker and weaker. 

“He started saying that all humans were the enemy, wanted revenge against them more than anything. And for a really long time, I believed him. For a while, I also believed that I loved him. A-and he used that, he used me. I was asked to do horrible things in the name of Faunus liberation, and when I refused-” Blake’s words stopped. For a second they just sat there, cowering in a ball as everyone stared at them, then they started making a sound unlike anything Yang had experienced. Somewhere between a muffled scream and a sob, it continued on until their lungs must have been empty. 

In the next moment a body slammed into Yang, wrapping its limbs around her desperately. Blake was audibly hyperventilating and she hurriedly reciprocated with a hug, one hand gently running through their hair. “It’s okay, you’re safe, you’re okay, you’re safe Blake, you’re safe here.” She kept crooning gently to them as their entire body heaved with the sobs that had finally broken through. 

At some point Ruby and Weiss joined them from each side in a sort of awkward group hug, gently rubbing along her back as they took turns whispering comforting things to Blake. Minutes blurred together like that, passing as slowly as grief and yet as quickly as fading sparks from fireworks. At some point Blake stopped crying, thanked Ruby and Weiss, and contented themself with simply sitting in Yang’s lap with her arms wrapped around them. 

“I have scars.” With that haunting, and yet matter-of-fact ending to their story, Blake indicated that they were done and simply deflated into Yang.

“Are you...” Yang wasn’t sure what she was asking. Obviously they weren’t okay.

“Drained, might close my eyes, probably can’t sleep. Just, hold me.”

“Okay.” And she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note about ages: I'm aging everybody up two years, mostly because being a huntsman/huntress is basically like being a soldier and the idea of training a 15 year old for combat is just ridiculous and irresponsible. So is 17 but it's better at least, she could have skipped one or two grades, making Beacon functionally a college. Plus, I intend for things to happen over a comparatively small period of time without as many timeskips as the show so it just makes sense that Ruby be old enough that she is actually plausibly mature already, because come on 15 year olds are practically babies.


	4. Even Ruby gets tired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Pyrrha gets the scolding she dearly needs, Ruby is an Egyptian crocodile, there is more cuddling, Yang's puns escalate, and poor Weiss continues to be mercilessly teased

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just because I've written four chapters in five days doesn't mean I have a problem.

_The night tells a thousand lies  
And when you wake up in the morning  
Were you dreaming  
Screaming  
Trying to hide your broken heart  
Before somebody cuts it all away _  
-Dio, Sunset Superman__

__Ruby had never really learned to handle her response to others’ trauma. She was far too empathetic and she loved her teammates far too much to be able to move on quickly. She clung to Weiss for a long time after Blake finished speaking._ _

__“Are you sure this is okay?” She murmured insecurely. There was a time when she would have been quickly pushed away from her white-haired partner if she had tried something like this._ _

__“Shhhhhh. Ruby, I am always overjoyed when you hug me and hold me, and I am honored to do the same for you, especially at a time like this. I’ve had a lifetime's worth of personal space growing up, and frankly, I’m incredibly tired of it.” A hand ran gently through her crimson mop of hair. “If I ever need you to back off a little I’ll tell you, I promise.”_ _

__“Does that mean that I can do this more often?”_ _

__Weiss laughed. Ohhh gosh that was a pretty sound. “Absolutely, although, um, if it’s early in the morning please make that sure you are the big spoon.”_ _

__“Huh?” Ruby got it, and grimaced. That was not a nice mental image. “Oh yeah, that would be... not great.”_ _

__“Yeah.” Weiss nodded awkwardly and hugged Ruby a little bit tighter._ _

__For a few minutes more Ruby’s attention drifted about the room, she didn’t process many words, but Jaune seemed to be keeping things relatively light at the moment. Her friends simply took comfort in each other’s presence as they gradually regained their equilibrium._ _

__At some point Blake’s eyes slid open and they started smiling hazily at the room and responding to stimuli again. Jaune appeared to take it as a que for anyone else to say what they needed to say._ _

__Pyrrha ended up going next. “So, there’s something I haven’t mentioned yet, about Ozpin, and the maidens. I asked Ozpin to let me tell you.” Pyrrha took a deep breath. “Ozpin told me about most of this already. He wanted to make me the next Fall maiden. There’s this hidden room under the school, and they were going to use a machine to transfer her aura to me while she was still alive. I asked him to give me time to make a decision, and I was going to do it the night of the tournament, but of course, that didn’t end up working out.”_ _

__“That seems very questionable. For a number of reasons.” Ruby could tell that Weiss had switched into her serious critical thinking mode. It was rather disappointing, the newer, more emotional Weiss that had shown up just that day was way more fun to cuddle. “Is it even known what happens to someone when they lose their aura? We don’t even understand what an aura really is. I don’t like that he would try something like that.”_ _

__“I was worried about all that too, but the alternative was letting her die and Cinder would just get the powers without a fight anyway. There’s no way I could let something like that happen.”_ _

__“That’s another thing though, he asked you, and he probably said not to share that information. Isn’t that a pretty manipulative thing to do? Pyrrha, you’re one of the kindest, most endlessly selfless people I know, do you think Ozpin wanted to use that? It’s pretty obvious to anyone who knows you a little bit. You were the most likely person to accept in a group of fairly young students, and then you get this offer from an authority figure, and all of a sudden you have this chance to help save the world, and all you have to do is risk your life.”_ _

__This conversation was sort of going over Ruby’s head. She had never really been great at this kind of complicated moral thinking, so instead she tried to focus on something she had thought was weird about what Pyrrha was saying._ _

__“I... I don’t know. When you put it like that it does seem questionable, but still, he can’t be malicious, he’s very clearly trying to protect Vale, and people in general.”_ _

__“He doesn’t have to be malicious for his actions to be wrong Pyrrha.”_ _

__Ruby realized what was bothering her about this conversation. She burst into petals and rushed up in front of Pyrrha, rematerializing with her finger pointing at her. “Don’t do that again!”_ _

__Pyrrha jolted in surprise. “Do what?”_ _

__“Don’t you dare be selfish like that again! Don’t think that you can just casually risk your life without asking us! I don’t care how much magical power is at stake, the only thing in this situation that we can’t take back from Salem is our life and the lives of others! We have to risk our lives when we fight yeah, but weird experiments and secrets is not how we do this! We’re huntsmen and huntresses, if we have to fight we’ll do whatever it takes to win to protect the people around us. But until then you are not allowed to be so selfish that you die trying to do something without telling us about it first so that we can stop you! No one’s allowed to just go off and do their own thing without telling anyone and then never come back and be missing from our lives forever and we don’t know how or why or-” She stomped her foot angrily as the tears started flowing._ _

__Someone lifted her into a hug. They whispered to her. “I miss her too, Rubes.” Yang._ _

__Pyrrha joined from the other side. “I’m sorry Ruby, I won’t do it again, I promise.”_ _

__She sniffled angrily and crossed her arms as much as she could in the middle of two strong bear hugs. “Good, if you do I’ll beat you up.”_ _

__Pyrrha let go of her with a laugh. “I’m sure you will.”_ _

__“Okay Yang, you can let go now. I’m not a kid anymore.” Yang let go but spun her around to demonstrate an obviously fake pout._ _

__“Noooo, surely you haven’t outgrown your big sister’s hugs.”_ _

__“Of course not, I just don’t really want one right now, cause I’m fine.” Ruby burst into petals and slipped through her sister’s legs to crash back into the couch. She didn’t go back to cuddling Weiss though, just sat there. She didn’t really feel like it for some reason._ _

__Yang looked at her funny for a moment. “Are you sure?”_ _

__“Yeah.” Ruby shrugged in exasperation._ _

__“Okay.” Yang sighed, and looked like she was lost, but she just wandered back to the couch as well._ _

__“Ruby Rose, you are not okay. Stop pretending.” Weiss placed a hand gently under her chin and tilted Ruby’s head until they were looking each other in the eye. “You don’t have to tell us what it is, but I won’t let you just repress it. I’ve made that mistake far too many times to let someone I love get away with it.”_ _

__Ruby gasped and her heart fluttered in her chest. “Someone you l-love?” She squeaked._ _

__Weiss just rolled her eyes, seeming to interpret her reaction as distress. “Don’t panic, I mean platonically, you dolt.”_ _

__“Ahh right, of course.” She grinned. It felt like some weight on her chest she hadn’t noticed before had somehow disappeared and she felt an immediate urge to hug Weiss again, so she did. “I don’t really know what was up, but I really do feel better now, so thank you.”_ _

__“I’m happy to do it any day Ruby.” Weiss patted her head softly and seemed to relax._ _

__Jaune cleared his throat. “Thank you Ruby. I think someone needed to say that, and you did a great job. Anyone else wanna talk about stuff?” He paused, then slumped down, seeming to let go of his responsibility. “So, I don’t understand. I don’t get it. It doesn’t make sense. How could anyone help Salem with what she’s doing? Why does anybody want to kill so many people.”_ _

__Pyrrha reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, but it was Blake who spoke up for the first time in a while. “Some people just want to see the world burn Jaune, they’ve given up on others. I think I might understand why on some level. It’s one of the saddest things in the world.”_ _

__Blake seemed to be doing okay, but just in case Ruby flipped herself over Weiss and into their personal space instead. They just smiled and opened their arms for a hug, which Ruby graciously provided._ _

__“Yeah, I guess it’s probably a good thing I don’t get it huh.” There was a chorus of general agreement. Ruby didn’t get it either, and yeah that was probably a good thing. Jaune pulled out his scroll. “What time is it anyway? Oh it’s already ten. There’s no way I’m watching The Two Towers tonight, this has been too much, even though I’ve basically just been watching all of you going through this. It has been kind of nice though, somehow.”_ _

__Weiss nodded thoughtfully. “There’s certainly more to be said, but I’m glad to have shared these experiences. If I go to sleep now I could also go to classes normally tomorrow.”_ _

__Blake talked to Weiss over Ruby’s shoulder. “This is Oobleck we’re talking about Weiss, do you really think that you can handle his class this soon?”_ _

__“I actually already completed notes for the next few lectures during the free time from the tournament, so I doubt that his exuberance will be an issue.”_ _

__“But Cardin is in that class.”_ _

__“Oh. Right. Day of rest it shall be then.”_ _

__“Good girl, I bet you need it, even if you can’t tell you do.” Blake tried to stand up but Ruby decided she didn’t want to let go of them._ _

__Weiss shot up to a standing position like a carbon fiber being inducted with electrical current. “What did you just say?”_ _

__“You heard me Schnee. And Ruby, what are you doing.”_ _

__Ruby gave Blake her best pout. “Wellllll, you carried Weiss here, so I think it’s my turn.”_ _

__Weiss was very deliberately staring down her nose at Blake. “Say it again.” It actually seemed more like an order than a threat._ _

__“Good girl?” Blake didn’t break eye contact with Weiss as they put their arms in front of them for Ruby to climb into. An offer that she giddily accepted._ _

__Weiss stood there, unblinking. Frozen like one of Yang’s nicknames for her._ _

__Blake stood up with Ruby happily settled into their arms. And Weiss stood there, still staring at the place where they had been sitting before. The two of them shared a confused look._ _

__Yang walked up to the three of them with a box of leftover pizza in her hands. “Hey, who broke Weiss? Whatever, here Ruby, take the leftovers.” Then she leaned over and whispered something into Weiss’ ear._ _

__Then, as if nothing had happened, Weiss harrumphed dramatically. “Very well, but only if you treat me as such.”_ _

__Yang bowed and mimed tipping her hat. “Why of course I shall m’lady.”_ _

__“Well, this is probably a terrible idea.” Weiss hopped up into Yang’s open arms and was shifted into a princess carry matching Ruby’s._ _

__Yang was the last person to leave the study room. “I love a captive audience. Nary a frown as far as the eye can Schnee.”_ _

__Ruby groaned at her sister. “I bet that if you keep that up you’ll end up with an en _long_ ated neck.”_ _

__“It’s a risk I’m willing to take, seeing as how every _rose_ has its thorns. Although this one is more of a snowbud.”_ _

__“Are you really going to just take this from her Weiss, you’ve got to fight back or you’ll be lost!” Ruby implored her partner for aid in the pun war, but Weiss simply watched them both from Yang's arms with a smile on her face. It was a really pretty smile. However, it was also clearly too late for her to be saved from Yang’s puns. Ruby needed a plan._ _

__“Weiss, catch!” Ruby tossed the leftovers box at Yang and activated her semblance, turning both herself and Blake into rose petals that immediately rushed down the hallway, only stopping once the two of them had raced by JNPR and reached their room._ _

__When they rematerialized Ruby fell flat on her face on the ground and Blake was laughing uproariously. “Whoa Ruby, that’s incredible. Your semblance is really amazing.”_ _

__She just gave them a thumbs up and a grin. “Tired...”_ _

__“Ah, you haven’t napped at all have you? Here, let me carry you to bed.” They picked her up but Ruby ended up falling asleep before she got into bed._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay fine it does mean I have a problem


	5. Black Skirts and Red Linings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh, gay things happen. Then Weiss has an important talk. Then more, gayer things happen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If only I could flirt as well as Weiss does here

_Running from my life ends now  
Use to keep holding back my thoughts  
Would be wrong if you're gone  
Found my way through the stars  
If I could reach to your heart_

_Money still can't buy me love  
But there's still life when there's  
Hope around  
Like a rainbow in the clouds  
A gift from above_  
-Nai Br.XXX&Celeina Ann, Kiss Me

Weiss watched Ruby and Blake disappear down the hallway with a sort of bemused disinterest as she languished in Yang’s hold, despite the pizza box she had been relegated to carrying. Suddenly, she came upon a positively evil plan that she couldn’t resist enacting. “Hey Yang.”

“Mmmm-hmmm?” Yang shifted her about a little such that she could comfortably speak upwards.

“I actually adore your puns, but if you tell anyone I said this I will deny it and they won’t believe you.”

“Hmmmm.” Yang made a ponderous face as she walked. “Well, in that case I’ll just keep making them until you break and can’t resist admitting that you like them to everyone.”

“I assure you, that will never happen.” Oh gods, she hadn’t expected Yang to say something like that. Was she doing this on purpose? She’d been completely right about how she hid her embarrassment. Yang was so intimidatingly perceptive. Which itself, she had to admit, she also found quite attractive. Should she even be bothering to restrain herself like this? 

“That got you so bad you’re not even verbose anymore? Interesting.” Oh she knew what she was doing.

“Not at all, I simply have nothing more to say to a simpleton such as yourself.” Internally, Weiss was screaming. Yang seemed to be initiating a kind of game of cat and mouse with her, but in a way she almost wanted to give up right there. On one hand, she felt angsty as hell, and definitely had a crush on the brawler. On the other, she literally came out today, and should probably focus her attention on transitioning, plus, being gradually whittled down sounded, um, interesting. She found herself needing to curl into a ball, at which Yang simply grinned smugly and accommodated her.

“Go ahead and cough if my plebeian attention is ever too dirtying to your superior intellect, princess.”

“I will keep that in mind.” That had not gone according to plan, but the outcome was admittedly quite favorable. They walked on in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. “Yang, serious question this time.”

“I’m listening.”

“Is there something that Ruby can’t admit is wrong?” 

Yang sighed resignedly. “Yeah, Summer, her mom, disappeared when we were really young. She never really managed to heal from that. When she asked Ozpin about it during that meeting she was okay, but sometimes something reminds her of Summer, or it just gets to be too much and the wound just opens up all over again. And yet, she can barely even recognise that it bothers her sometimes, she just shuts down. It’s scary. Thank you for helping her stop that before, by the way. I can never seem to bring her out of it myself.”

“Mmmmm, Ruby is very important.” Weiss didn’t really trust herself to use more words than that, lest she go on a lovestruck rant in front of the sister of the girl she had a crush on. Who she also had a crush on. She may have a problem. She had to admit it was rather grimly appropriate, given some of the more private beliefs she held.

“Her reaction when you said you loved her wasn’t negative you know.”

“I... WHAT?!” Weiss vaulted herself out of Yang’s arms and landed with a graceful pirouette.

“Well, seeing as how you corrected yourself before, I thought you might be under the impression that you had scared her because she’s ace. But she never said anything about being aro.” 

“I... am aware of the difference.” Weiss power walked the rest of the way to her home sweet dorm. She may have been blushing. 

When she got back Ruby and Blake already seemed to be asleep, so she went through her evening ritual as well. Though once she had gotten into her bed she realized she wasn’t really tired, probably because of her nap earlier. She ended up getting out her scroll, and was reminded that she still hadn’t talked to Coco yet.

**Weissicle:Hello, is this Coco?  
hotCoco:my name is literally in this username, so _no_  
Weissicle:So, did Blake tell you who I am?  
hotCoco:indeed they did. Do you intend to be out to everyone in the school?  
Weissicle:I’m not going to be going to classes for a few days, but yes. I’ve already let Ozpin know, and he sent an email to professors, as well as setting me up on hrt with the nurse  
hotCoco:I’ll be sure to spread the word among those I know then, if you ever end up getting cut off somehow, I have access to unofficial channels for hrt  
Weissicle:thank you for the offer  
hotCoco:don’t worry about it, I simply intend to call in as many favors as possible once you’re running the SDC  
Weissicle:Oof  
Weissicle:I wouldn’t hold your breath on that, the only scenarios in which I can foresee myself running the SDC are fully dependent on my father either dying or being imprisoned for the things he’s done  
hotCoco:No faith in the Atlas legal system?  
Weissicle:He is most likely the single most powerful man in Atlas, except perhaps Ironwood, it would take something obscenely blatant for them to endanger their precious dust supply  
hotCoco:hmmm, I see. Still, I was mostly joking, I’m sure a huntress as skilled as yourself will make for an excellent contact no matter what you do or do not inherit  
Weissicle:for some reason, I don’t find myself believing that you’re as cynical as you act  
hotCoco:I had best act harder then.   
Weissicle:Or you could stop acting  
hotCoco:I have a brand darling  
Weissicle:I need you to specify which definition of brand you are using in this context  
hotCoco:a conceptual brand, not a physical piece of metal  
hotCoco:though I must ask, whatever thoughts could lead you to be unsure of that particular word’s meaning  
Weissicle:I may have certain, questionable interests. And you have a certain aura about you that gives me the impression of your being someone similar  
hotCoco:You don’t need to be obtuse, did Blake not mention the seminars?  
Weissicle:What seminars? Though I’m sure I would feel the need to be obtuse regardless  
hotCoco:we, team CFVY, hold occasional educational kink seminars out of our room  
Weissicle:if that is some sort of offer, I may one day take you up on it, however, at the moment, I find myself rather dysphoric about the nature of some such thoughts, and would prefer not to discuss such things  
hotCoco:I see, apologies if I’ve distressed you, but I know that can be a difficult subject to discuss with teammates, so if you ever need guidance or reassurance feel free to bother me  
Weissicle:thank you, that time will probably come some day  
hotCoco: so then which teammates do you have crushes on?  
Weissicle:...  
Weissicle:how dare you  
Weissicle:how dare you be so damn accurate  
hotCoco: just a guess, it’s pretty common to have feelings for your teammates, especially when you’re queer  
Weissicle:But still, you said teammates, plural  
Weissicle:You are even scarier than Yang  
hotCoco:she sees through your whole Ice Queen shtick too huh?  
Weissicle:Is it really that obvious?  
hotCoco:no, it is simply an acquired skill we happen to share  
hotCoco:tell me whoooo though  
Weissicle:well, Ruby  
Weissicle:and Yang  
Weissicle:and now that I think about it probably Blake too  
hotCoco:nice  
Weissicle:how is that nice this is going to be a disaster, I am a disaster waiting to happen  
hotCoco:well, yes things could go horribly wrong, but, they could also go incredibly right  
Weissicle:how???  
hotCoco:well I mean, Velvs, Fox, Yatsu, and I worked out. It would probably be harder for y’all since Yang and Ruby are sisters, but in polyamory anything is possible  
Weissicle:Intellectually, I know that you’re right, but emotionally, I cannot comprehend that something like that could ever happen  
Weissicle:and, I am terrified of taking a risk like that  
Weissicle:I need them in my life, in any way at all, as long as they’re here with me I can handle everything else  
Weissicle:and now that I’m thinking about it it’s honestly starting to drive me crazy, because holding back like this is something that is very much against the nature of my deity, but at the same time if I don’t I could easily end up losing so much, everything in my future could be ruined  
Weissicle:fuck  
Weissicle:I’m sorry to dump on you like this  
hotCoco:no worries, I brought it up in the first place, it’s my fault  
hotCoco:let me make it up to you sometime, I’ll make you a dress  
hotCoco:but also, I am always here to listen if you need it, so please don’t hesitate to reach out, my dorm is usually open as well  
Weissicle:thank you, at this point I’m just tired, I guess I’ll try to sleep, goodnight  
hotCoco:goodnight**

The next morning Weiss woke up to find that Ruby had at some point come down from her bunk to cuddle and then fell asleep again. Or perhaps she had never woken up in the first place, the girl was certainly clingy enough to pull something like that off. Either way, Weiss found herself once again grateful for the only way in which her body had developed to her favor, her tiny stature. Even Ruby was taller than her, and it made for wonderful cuddles that made her feel very small in the best possible way.

Unfortunately, the need for food eventually motivated her to break out of the warm embrace she had been enjoying. Her plans were disrupted however, as she opened her dresser full of business slacks and dress shirts, realizing that she held nothing but revulsion for all of her current clothes, save the soft white pajamas she was currently wearing. 

“Oof. I need to get new clothes.” 

At that Ruby immediately popped up from Weiss’ sheets. “Why don’t you try on some of mine? We’re pretty much the same size.”

Weiss desperately wanted to refuse, but she couldn’t think of a good reason to, other than the fact that she liked Ruby, and would feel like a creep if she wore her clothes. Although of course this was different since she had permission. “You are correct, that is probably the most practical thing to do until I can get my own.” 

“Yaaay!” Ruby dived into her dresser and began wildly flinging clothes about the room. After a minute she pulled out a knee-length black skirt with crimson trim and a matching red and black shirt. “Do this first!” 

She took the proffered garments. “I intend to wear one thing all day thank you.” Ruby pouted, but Weiss hurried into the bathroom before she could be convinced otherwise and changed. 

Coming out of the bathroom was an interesting feeling, Weiss was not at all used to having exposed legs, partially to hide the tendency she had always had to shave them and partially because of the standards of dress for an atlesian heir. She was also very nervous, so she opted to focus on her legs. 

Unfortunately, with too much focus on how her legs actually did look rather nice in a skirt, she failed to notice a rapidly incoming human projectile named Ruby Rose. “Weiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiss!” Ruby crashed directly into her at full speed, sending them both tumbling down to the ground with Ruby on top of Weiss, her hands placed to either side of her head. 

“Weiss! You’re so pretty!” Oh no, Ruby was on top of her. Oh yes, Ruby was on top of her. And she had called her pretty! Of all the conflicting thoughts in Weiss’ head at that moment the one that won out in that moment was that she felt pretty too. It was a revelation so ground-breakingly, earth-shatteringly radical to her that she managed to completely refrain from panicking as Ruby slowly leaned forward and kissed her. 

It took her an instant to realize what was happening, but as soon as she did she kissed back. Weiss couldn’t hold back, and she really didn’t want to anymore. After an unknown amount of time they seperated, each with their own giddy smile as they stared at each other for a moment. “You think I’m pretty?” Weiss found herself concentrating on a strand of hair she had wrapped around her index finger. Holy shit, she felt _bashful_.

A soft hand caressed her cheek. “You’re so beautiful.” 

Weiss couldn’t. She lacked words. So instead she just hugged Ruby, blubbering incoherent things into her ear in an attempt to express the absolute adoration she felt for her and the sheer joy of this moment. 

“Mmmkay Weiss, take your time.” Ruby pulled them both into a sitting position without breaking the hug and gently rubbed her back.

“Girl.” Weiss could feel words gradually coming back to her. “Ruby. Girl. Me girl. Girlfriend?”

“Why yes, this does make you my girlfriend.” 

Weiss just buried her face into the crook of Ruby’s neck until she managed to regain her composure. She smelled like roses. Finally, she managed to stand up, and pulled Ruby up with her. “Ruby, that is a very overwhelming way of saying that you like me. But also incredibly sweet and adorable.”

“Does that mean that I can do it again?” Ruby looked delighted, almost as delighted as Weiss felt.

Weiss swallowed thickly as her mind wandered back to how it had felt to be pinned under her new girlfriend. “Um, maybe in a minute. There’s something I want to do first.” With a step away from Ruby, Weiss raised her arms so that they pointed out, looked down, and did a twirl. In response, her skirt did the thing where it flutters. So she twirled again, and again, and again.

When she stopped she realized she'd made herself dizzy, and barely managed to stumble back to her bed and collapse into it, laughing all the way. As expected, an opportunistic Ruby also made her way to her bed and caught Weiss in her arms before she could smash her head against the wall.

“I’ve never seen you smiling and laughing so much Weiss.” Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss' chest and pulled her snugly into her lap while resting her chin over the heiress’ shoulder. "It's wonderful."

“Well I’ve certainly gained a few things to smile and laugh about since I first came here, such as yourself.” Weiss gave Ruby a peck on the cheek before leaning back and just letting herself be held. Unfortunately, at that moment, the scroll sitting on Weiss’ nightstand dinged with a notification. “Uggggh, I need to check it.”

“Do you though?” Ruby whined.

“It’s probably important.” Mournfully, Weiss leaned forward and grabbed her scroll. It was a message from the school nurse. “Good news and bad news. Good news, I get to have titty skittles now. Bad news, I have to get up and walk over there to pick them up.” 

Ruby gave forth a lengthy sigh. “Okay. I’ll heat up breakfast while you do.” 

“Why not just meet me at the cafeteria?”

“Well, y’know. There’ll be a bunch of people there and they might not all be very nice.”

Oh, right. For a few hours there Weiss had actually forgotten that transphobes existed. “Right, yes, putting off having to deal with that would be nice, thank you Ruby.” With one last peck on the lips and a wave goodbye, Weiss went to get her new meds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am thoroughly impressed by every single one of my peers who has written cute gay things because this took forever to write because I just kept dying because I am too gay and white rose is too adorable. There was a good two hours where I was at like one or two words per minute
> 
> Also yo, having a group chat is such a handy plot device for when I want to have people talk to each other a bunch but there isn't really any meaningful physical activity or internal narrative involved
> 
> Additionally, I have some ideas that aren't in this chapter and I am positively frightened by how genius they are. They're coming soonish. Actually mostly not for quite a while


	6. Blake gets a clue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby helps Blake with some of their troubles, and an awkward breakfast leads to a joyous revelation and Yang's confusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm actually writing this at a healthy speed that lets me get my homework done now because my brain has stopped being hyperfixated. This is a good thing

_Tell me if – If you can hear  
Even just the sound of my voice   
Loud and clear, free from the void  
That once consumed it whole_

_If this world retains some worth  
Then there may still be some hope left  
To unearth my destiny and give these feelings a role_  
-Shoko Nakagawa, Sorairo Days

Blake overheard the entire adorable ordeal of Weiss and Ruby’s becoming of girlfriends silently from their bunk. After a while they simply gave up on the book they had been reading and watched the girls instead. They were absolutely delighted to see their two cutest teammates opening up to each other and cuddling with romantic intent. Yet, at the same time they felt somehow jealous. They interpreted it as simply being their desire to cuddle with Yang that way, to languish in her strong arms the way that Weiss did in Ruby’s. 

On some level they knew they were lying to themself, but for the moment it was enough. They didn’t really dare think too hard about romance at the moment. They knew they weren’t ready, and the way they had been treating Yang lately made it painfully, guiltily obvious. Adam still had power over them, they could feel it. Last night had helped, but so much of the raw, irrational terror remained. And they just kept running from it, and from Yang. 

Falling back into their bed, they ended up stewing in their guilt for a little while. Such was their flagellation that they failed to notice when Weiss went to the nurse, or when Ruby put three servings of pizza and brownies into the toaster oven to heat instead of two. What they did notice was the mop of red and black hair that appeared next to their bed, which was most likely a result of Ruby standing on a chair to talk to them. 

“Hey Blake,” she verbally prodded them, “what’s up?”

They sighed as they returned the book they no longer had hope of reading more of to its shelf. “Hey Ruby. You can come up here you know.” 

Ruby accepted the invitation, pulling herself up and sliding herself into a position next to Blake while constantly glancing at them as she adjusted. “Like this?”

“I would have expected that you’d want to cuddle? Why didn’t you just use your semblance to pop up here like you normally do?”

With what seemed to a sigh of relief Ruby slowly snuggled her way into Blake’s open arms. “I don’t want to spook you. It sort of feels like if I did something too fast you’d get scared right now.”

“I guess you’re right.” At some point something in their head had started telling them that they needed to run again. They knew better, but a sudden bundle of energy materializing on top of them wouldn’t have ended well. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ruby was normally a bright bundle of energy that flew about like a leaf in a hurricane, but in that moment her entire attention was on Blake and on making sure they were okay. Her entire body just seemed to radiate unconditional love as Blake held her closer. Especially those gleaming silver eyes that stared up into theirs with concern.

“It’s... Adam. Talking about it last night helped a lot, it really did. But it also stirred everything up. And now I feel like I’m slipping again. Like I might just decide to run away from it all at any moment. I want to stop running, but I feel like I’m not strong enough, like I don’t deserve all of this.” They gestured at their dorm, and at Ruby.

“Blake, you are the most gentle, caring, and brave person I know. You’ve been through so much, and you’ve managed to keep trusting people, to keep loving them. You deserve so much love and respect, and all the happiness in the world. If you ever end up running away from us, we will chase you down and shower you in love and support until you start forgiving yourself and then bring you back home.”

“You don’t understand Ruby. I didn’t get out of there quickly enough. I’ve already done things that can’t be forgiven.” They should probably have been crying, but they just felt limp, deflated. 

Ruby only seemed to take their loosening grip as a cue to hold onto them tighter. “Oh no, Blake...” she seemed to be on the verge of crying, but she blinked back her tears. “I don’t know what to say about that, but please don’t give up on yourself. If you can’t manage to believe in what an amazing person you are, then believe in me, believe in the me that believes in you. We all do, Weiss, Yang, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Jaune, we all know that you belong here and that you deserve every good thing that happens, okay? Believe in us.”

Blake's entire body shuddered. Ruby... they knew she was right. Even if they couldn’t trust themself right now, they already trusted their friends with their life, so maybe they could bring themself to trust them in this as well. All the people they respected, cherished, _loved_. They were all here with them. All but two. “Okay Ruby, I’ll do my best. Thank you so much.” 

She smiled at them. “Good, I’m so proud of you Blake. Never forget that, okay?”

“I won’t, I promise.” They sniffled, and somewhere a timer dinged. 

“Breakfast is ready, would you like a ride there on the Ruby Express?” Ruby leaned up from their embrace, taking their hand in her own.

With absolutely no idea what Ruby meant by that, Blake nodded.

For just the briefest of moments both of them burst into rose petals and flew to the toaster oven. Something about that instant felt different than it had last night, there was something indescribably intimate about it. For just a second lost in time Ruby and Blake were certain they could feel each other in that swirling, chaotic, cloud of red that Ruby’s semblance created. That they could feel everything.

When it ended Blake staggered, resting all their weight on the counter as their head spun. In the aftermath all they could really remember was a strange warmth, and far too much information to process. “Ruby, what just happened?”

Ruby didn’t seem much better as she sat on the ground with her head between her hands. “I don’t know. My semblance has never done anything like that before.” She looked up at them with wide eyes. “Blake, do you really feel that way about everyone too?”

Blake tilted their head in confusion, still not really thinking clearly. “Huh?”

Ruby’s gaze seemed to lose focus, as if she was trying to remember something from a dream. “Oh, never mind, I’m sorry. This is really weird. But it also makes a lot of sense? How much of that do you remember?”

They shook their head and went back to standing. “I don’t know, just this weird feeling of, I guess intimacy? But now I’m really hungry.” Since they seemed to be recovering more quickly than Ruby, they went ahead and pulled out the breakfast of pizza and brownies. As if on cue, Weiss and Yang came back into the room. 

They then proceeded to simultaneously express their concern for Ruby. “Ruby? Are you okay?” Each rushed to kneel down at her side.

“She should be fine. Something weird just happened with her semblance and now she’s a little disoriented.” Blake volunteered as they sat down to eat. 

Ruby seemed to focus back on what was happening around her as Weiss held her hand. They had some sort of mushy moment that Blake and Yang were mutually disinterested in watching, though for different reasons. Following that was a few moments of silence as everyone readied their breakfast, save Yang who had eaten in the cafeteria like a normal person. 

Instead Yang spent the time glaring at Weiss suspiciously, only speaking once she had sat down. “Just remember Weiss, you hurt her, I hurt you.”

Weiss just rolled her eyes. “Yang, I assure you, any pain that may occur will be entirely consensual, and most likely inflicted upon me.” Then she cackled at her own joke.

Yang just cracked her knuckles as Ruby stared at Weiss with some confusion. “Huh?”

“Er, don’t worry Ruby, it’s an allosexual joke that I don’t actually intend to follow through on.” She seemed to realize that she needed to placate Yang.

A slightly awkward silence hung over them until Weiss and Ruby finished eating, prompting Yang to ask about her semblance again. “So Ruby, what exactly happened with your semblance with you and Blake?”

“I can’t really explain it, all I can say is that I know some things I didn’t before after I carried them with me for a moment.” Ruby shrugged. “I need to try to do it again sometime so that I can figure it out. I was thinking Weiss and I should do some training.”

Weiss nodded. “I could use some practice with footwork while wearing a skirt, and I guess I can volunteer to be a guinea pig. There’s also something of a secret technique I’ve been thinking of trying out lately.” 

Blake was still eating as the two of them shuffled out. Yang seemed strangely sullen about it. “They better be in there practicing.” 

“Knowing Weiss, it should be at least a good eighty percent practicing, which is really impressive given the circumstances.” Blake was a little bit confused by Yang’s behavior, it seemed excessive to only be overprotectiveness of her sister.

“I suppose so.” Yang just sat there.

Blake took a deep breath. Here was another person they needed to start facing, and now was as good a time as any. “So, Yang, I’ve sort of been hot and cold with you lately, and I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve just been using you for comfort.”

Yang seemed to pause in thought for a moment. “Oh, yeah, I guess you have been, don't worry about it though. It’s seemed to be pretty justified when you're distant.”

“I guess so, but I owe you an explanation. You see Yang, I’ve been sort of scared.” Blake’s hands shook as they sipped their tea, their entire body trembled with nerves over what they were about to say. “Of how much I love you. When you hold me I feel like I would do anything to stay with you, and it scared me a little.” They forced themself to look Yang in the eye, and their look was greeted by confusion.

Yang took their hand in both of hers as she seemed to be looking for words. “I actually feel the same way Blake, I want to hold you, and keep you safe, and be with you. But... at the same time there’s someone else I feel that way about, and I can’t-”

Blake used their free hand to shush Yang. Something in their head had just clicked. “Wait a second. Is this person Weiss?” 

Yang nodded in confusion.

“Holy shit. I think, give me a minute.” Ruby’s words from earlier flashed through their head. _Blake, do you really feel that way about everyone too?_ Holy shit, she had said _too._ Implying that Ruby loved them as well. 

Now that they thought about that question with an understanding of what it meant, they could admit to themself that they did. And if Yang loved both them and Weiss, Ruby loved both them and Weiss, they knew they loved all three of their teammates, that only left Weiss herself. And Weiss was already dating Ruby, had been clearly flirting with Yang last night, and had seemed to at least be rather affectionate with Blake last night when she had let herself be carried. 

They broke out into uncontrollable laughter in relief. “Yang! Holy shit. I think we have a polycule here.” Excitement filled their voice as they moved their finger from Yang’s mouth.

“A what?”

“Wait really? You aren’t already familiar with polyamory, even just conceptually?”

“Blake, I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.”

“Okay we need to get you to Coco so that she can give you the talk, because I am way too giddy to go through explaining everything right now. Wait, are you even aware that everyone in team CFVY is dating each other?”

“They what? That’s a thing you can do?”

“Yeah, and it’s hella awesome Yang, come on.” Blake grabbed Yang’s hand and dragged her out of their dorm in the direction of CFVY. With their other hand they pulled out their scroll and fired off a quick message to all four of them.

**catNapper: incoming:one Xiao Long in need of education and one very excited genderfuck in need of possible celebration**


	7. Interlude: Silence and I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter about what the villains are doing at the moment.

_If I cried out loud  
over sorrows I've known  
And the secrets I've heard  
It would ease my mind  
Someone sharing the load  
But I won't breathe a word_  
-The Alan Parsons Project, Silence and I

Neopolitan stood in absolute motionlessness in the abandoned warehouse. Her semblance covered her in darkness as she eavesdropped on the conversation between Cinder and Salem. She had been a mercenary long enough to know when to expect your client to kill you, and they had just experienced a complete failure, even if that failure wasn’t her own damn fault. 

In the same overabundance of caution, she had kept the way that she could use her semblance to simply blend into her surroundings hidden from everyone but Roman. It was a simple imitation of whatever was behind her, but coupled with motionlessness it was as effective as most semblances meant for stealth were against the average human. 

“Explain yourself Cinder. How have you failed to execute such a simple plan?”

“Torchwick sold us out, even though he didn’t know the details, he managed to sell the information on our semblances, meaning that they knew Emerald was in that arena, fucking with the fighters’ heads after Mercury’s performance.” 

Neo grit her teeth as she trembled with rage, Cinder was lying through her teeth. As expected, that bitch did whatever was convenient to save her own skin. 

“He is to be killed at once, and Neopolitan if she was complicit.”

“I’ve already taken care of him.”

White filled Neo’s vision, she needed to kill Cinder right now. Kill every last one of them. But they outnumbered her. She knew she could take any one of them on by herself, but if she earned Salem’s rage here she would most likely die before she was finished.

“His bitch wasn’t in on it, we were careful to keep an eye on her while we were undercover. I plan to blame Ozpin for his death, and as a result I expect that she will become fully cooperative in the name of revenge.” 

Oh she would be cooperative alright. She was no fool. She would be fully cooperative, until the day came when they all cried out in desperation “Neo, help us.” That day would come, and on that day she would not stop, she would not rest until every last one of them was dead. Not until it was done.

“And the maiden’s power?” 

Years of her life flashed by Neo’s eyes. Roman’s outstretched hand was the only time in her life that anyone had even tried to help her to her feet. The only person who knew who she was and respected her anyway. The only person who understood her. 

There was a sound similar to a gas stove igniting. “It’s all mine.”

The man who had raised Neo from a scared child who cowered in the dirt into a proud professional was dead. And soon enough, his murderer would be too.

“Very well then, you are to come to me, I will train you in the use of this power. Instruct Adam to return the White Fang to full strength, and Arthur to prepare a means of imitating all outgoing information from Vale to the rest of the world. Once you are ready, they will be torn apart, slowly and painfully.”

Neo knew though, she knew that the only slow and painful death that would happen would be Cinder’s. As she slinked away from the hidden location, she comforted herself with fantasies of torturing Cinder, bringing her a slow, painful death as all the people she hated laughed at her. 

Revenge was going to be delicious. Although, it was somehow sad that it would likely be her last meal. Certainly, she couldn’t think of a reason to keep going once it was over.


	8. Love Will Turn Our Universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slow burn means that they don’t start the fic already dating each other right?
> 
> also hype! longest chapter yet, and it has a variety of smooching in it

_See the fool who mimics the sun  
Burning out like a quasar pulsing?  
Your lunar laugh and smokey dreams  
Bare your soul and take control  
While the spaced out space chick keeps the cosmic beat  
And day-glo daffodils are pushing violent from the earth_

_Hallucinating Pluto,  
Love will turn our universe  
Hallucinating Pluto,  
Love will turn our universe  
I could exist here, I could exist here happily_  
-The B52s, Hallucinating Pluto

Yang’s initial confusion was very effectively resolved into wonder through Coco’s effortless instruction. Her guilt however, was not. The idea of dating multiple people at once had never occurred to her before. All that she’d been able to consider when Weiss had told her that she was dating Ruby was how utterly betrayed she felt, at the way that Weiss had flirted with her the night before, even though she should have known better than to be frustrated when she hadn’t directly said anything to Weiss. She hated how hostile she had been towards the girl, how she’d taken the slightest disappointment out on her instead of at least being able to talk about it. 

“I’m really grateful that you took the time to teach me about all of this Coco, but there’s no way I’m ready to handle being in a polycule, I can barely handle when a girl I like starts dating someone else without threatening to kneecap her under the guise of being an overprotective sister.” Yang sunk back into the couch Coco had set her on in defeat.

Blake looked down from the book they had been reading with a disappointed sigh. “Yang, I’m not going to say what you are or aren’t ready to do, but I’m guessing that when you found out about Weiss and Ruby you felt betrayed by both of them. It’s not a great way to react, but it is an understandable reaction, and the reason it happened is that you didn’t directly communicate with Weiss that you liked her sooner. As long as you can understand that the things you did that led up to that happening and do a better job of preventing it next time, and as your teammates we can move on from this and still trust you.”

Coco nodded in approval. “When you’re in a polyamorous relationship the most important thing is communication. As long as you’re open and honest you stand a chance Yang. We all have issues, helping and being helped through them by the people you love is a natural part of any close relationship, romantic or not. All of you are adults, even Ruby is turning eighteen next month, and even though I’m just an onlooker, you’re all good people, and I think it’s something that you four have the ability to pull off.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you two would go around being so right when I’m here trying to be mad at myself. And the real reason I’d rather be mad at myself than seriously consider trying this is that I’m terrified of what happens if we screw up and we all fall apart.” Yang hung her head in her hands. “I don’t want to take that chance, I just want to be able to stay with my teammates.” 

“Yang, I understand that you’re scared, and this could go horribly wrong, but we already all seem to have these feelings, and they aren’t going away. I don’t want to threaten or pressure you, but even if you decide you don’t want to try this, I’m going to talk to Ruby and Weiss about how I feel about them, and assuming that my deductions about their interests in me are right, how would you then feel about being the only person in the team being left out? Would hiding your feelings like that really be safer than being in an honest relationship? One that admittedly, indirectly involves your sister, which is going to be weird, don’t get me wrong. But that sounds like it would be painful for you too.”

Yang’s palm pounded against her forehead in frustration. “I know what you’re saying makes sense, and is very correct. But I can’t really bring myself to believe it. I can’t believe that I can really avoid screwing this up. I don’t trust myself not to hurt anyone again with my temper.”

Her thoughts went back to the incident with Mercury again. Even though what happened was fake, if it had been real, if someone with no aura had made that kind of dangerous jump kick at her, she knew so many better ways to stop them than by simply pounding their leg like that. It would have been plenty to just grab him and use his momentum to toss him around from her point of view. But instead she did the most vindictive thing she could think of. She had gone out of her way to hurt the little punk for trying to keep fighting like that. She really wasn’t in control when she fought, and she hadn’t been in control when she’d been mean to Weiss. When else could she lose control?

Blake’s hand resting gently on her shoulder grounded her a little bit. “That’s okay. Don’t believe in yourself.”

“Wait. What?”

Blake smiled gently. “Don’t believe in yourself, believe in me. Believe in the me that believes in you. We all do. You’re an amazing person Yang, even if you don’t believe it.”

Yang squinted suspiciously at Blake. “That sounds like the kind of nonsense that Ruby would say.”

They just chuckled at her. “It is, she used it on me earlier and now I’m using it on you. I think it’s actually a really good line though. At the same time though, Yang, you had better go to some counselling too.”

Yang flinched. “Yeah, I, um, I’ve been putting that off, but you’re right.”

This time Blake patted her head reassuringly. “Good, now how about we go back to the dorm and wait for Ruby and Weiss to get back from their practice session. There’s also something I’d like your help with while we wait.”

Coco gave them a round of applause. “I get the feeling that this is the beginning of an excellent friendship. When all four of you manage to get together and discuss things let me know and I’ll lend you a bunch of books that should help educate you even more. And remember, Mama Coco is always here to dispense her wisdom, except on Thursday nights.”

Yang forced herself to get up from the couch with a groan. “Do I even want to know what happens on Thursday nights?”

Blake stretched themself out like a cat after standing up. “Probably not.”

After thanking Coco one last time the pair began the walk back to their dorm. At first they were silently mulling over their futures, but eventually Yang found herself needing to ask a question.

“Blake, if Weiss and Ruby end up not feeling the way we do, would you still want to be my, uh, theyfriend?”

Blake snickered at her. “Partner works much better in my opinion, but yes, I would.” They reached out and took hold of Yang’s hand. She squeezed back affectionately. 

With her free hand Yang realized she needed to send Ruby and Weiss a message to come back once they were done training, lest they spend time canoodling.

**DragonofDojima:yo, once you two are done training come right back to the dorm, we need to have a team meeting  
Weissicile:alright, should be about 45 minutes until the reservation ends**

Yang sighed in relief when they got back to their dorm. “So what was that thing that you needed help with?”

Blake shuffled about nervously as they pulled out their scroll, their ears lowering in embarrassment. “Well, there’s still someone from my past that I need to face.”

“Uh when you say face you don’t mean combat do you?” Yang sat on her bed with a concerned look at Blake.

“No, not at all. I need you to help me write a letter. To my parents.” Blake sat down next to Yang and leaned carefully into her. “I mostly need emotional support.”

Yang reached her arm gently around Blake and tugged them in close as she hummed in acknowledgement. “You haven’t communicated with them since you were fourteen?”

“No, at first I was ashamed of running away, then I wasn’t allowed to, and since I came here I’ve been afraid of contacting them.” 

“Well, from what you’ve said about the old White Fang, your parents sound like wonderful people, and I’m glad to be your emotional support Yang. Do you know how to contact them already?”

They nodded as they pulled out their scroll. “My dad is the chieftain of Kuo Kuana, the capital of Menagerie now. All I need to do is send him an email and I’m sure he’ll read it and show mom.”

“All right, c’mon, lay down and cuddle while you write it.” Yang gently guided Blake to lay beside her in her bed while keeping her arm wrapped around their shoulders with their sides flush against each other. She then propped their heads up with a second pillow as Blake bent their legs to rest their scroll on. “This good?”

“It’s perfect.” Blake looked up at Yang and hesitated with their faces only inches apart as they looked back and forth between their scroll and her before seeming to settle on a decision. “Give me a good luck kiss?”

With her free hand Yang gently cupped the back of Blake’s head and pulled them into a tender kiss. It wasn’t long, but they both poured all their tenderness for each other into it, and when they seperated Yang could feel her eyes focusing back on Blake’s lips, thinking about how badly she already wanted to do that again. “Alright, now get to work before we start making out.”

Blake nodded. “Right.”

It took a while to really prompt the words out of Blake, but once they started writing they couldn’t seem to stop, telling their parents in varying amounts of detail about the things that had happened since they were last together. The only thing that they didn’t mention at all was their new romantic situation. Something that made sense to Yang, given that at the moment everything was still up in the air. 

They managed to finish a few minutes before Weiss and Ruby were expected to be back, so the two of them spent the remainder of that time simply laying there, basking in each other’s presence. By the time their teammates did get back, they were probably a little bit more tangled up with each other than could be considered casual, prompting a playfully disgusted groan from Ruby, and an intrigued glance from Weiss. 

After untangling herself and sitting up in her bed Yang clapped her hands once. “Okay, so. As is probably obvious Blake and I are dating now.” Yang looked uncertainly at Blake sitting next to her, who nodded. “But, uh, you two should take a seat for the next part, because this might take a while.”

Strangely, both Weiss and Ruby seemed to be expecting this, as rather than nervous they actually looked rather excited and happy. Though that could have just been a result of the canoodling that almost certainly happened when they were training. Still, they took their seats on Weiss’ bed peacefully enough. 

Yang just sort of stared at them for a second, not really sure what to say. “So, uh, Blake, would you li-”

Weiss interrupted her. “Nope, I’ve got this.” She stood up and walked across the room to stand directly in front of Blake and pointed at them. “Blake Belladonna, I love you.” Then she pointed at Yang. “And you Yang Xaio Long.” She walked back to Ruby's bed and pointed at her too. “And you as well Ruby Rose. And just to be clear, I mean romantically.” She went back to sitting.

Ruby giggled and awkwardly waved at Blake. “I love you too Weiss, and you Blake, the same way.”

“I love you too Ruby, and you Weiss, and of course” Blake put an arm around Yang’s shoulders, “you too Yang.” 

Yang blushed and nervously looked down at the floor with a massive grin on her face, forcing herself to go on. ”I love you too Blake, and you Weiss.” There was silence for a moment. “So um, now what? How did you two even know what this team meeting was about anyway?” 

“Well actually Coco sort of let me know that things were coming to a head today. She didn’t reveal anything personal, but we figured that it meant it was time to confront everybody’s feelings.” Weiss smiled shyly. “I guess this means we’re going to form a polycule?”

She felt positively giddy, ready to giggle like a schoolgirl, and hopped up on adrenaline at the same time. What the hell, some part of her really hadn’t even started believing in the possibility of this happening, but here they were. 

Everyone was looking sideways at each other with wide smiles on their faces. Blake was the one who brought them back to focus. “Now we need to establish boundaries. Ruby and Yang, you’re the first people I can think of who should probably say something.” 

Yang cleared her throat and looked at Ruby nervously. “Yeah, I don’t inherently object to dating the people who are also dating my sister, but it’s definitely kinda awkward. The only thing I can think of right now would be: don’t go getting handsy with her in the same room as me. Partially because I’m overprotective, partially because seriously, I do not want to see that.” 

Ruby nodded. “I think I would describe that as ‘keep things wholesome when Ruby and Yang are in the same room.’” 

“That’s definitely a good general description of my expectations Rubes, thanks. And that applies to things that you say too. Although I think that rule only really applies to things that are being said or done to or by me and Ruby. Meaning I wouldn’t mind Blake and Weiss being slightly less restrained with each other while we’re both in the room at the same time.”

Ruby looked back and forth between Blake and Weiss with a contemplative look in her eyes. “Yeah, I think I feel the same way.”

Blake looked relieved to have that out of the way. “Okay, other than that I can’t think of anything specific we should establish in terms of rules. As a principal though, and I cannot repeat this enough, we need to be open and honest with each other, and talk about anything that’s bothering us as soon as we realize it. And that especially includes jealousy, it’s perfectly normal to experience, and as long as we talk about it it should work itself out fine.”

Weiss raised her hand. “Something that I’m preemptively concerned about is that Blake and I might not get as much time with each other as other pairs of us would. I think we as a team have a little bit of a tendency to pair off as combat partners, or to trade our combat partners.”

Yang thought about what to do with that. “Yeah, and I haven’t really felt like Rubes and I have been getting that much sister time since we came here either. What if we had a weekly date night for a pair of people?”

“I really want to go on dates with Weiss and Blake at the same time though.” Ruby whined.

Weiss leaned against Ruby affectionately. “We can have date nights for all four of us too. Maybe two people go out on Wednesdays and all four of us on Saturdays?”

They managed to collectively settle on Tuesdays and Saturday, since that was when there was the least homework to do.

There was a squeaking of Weiss’ mattress as Ruby jumped out of it in excitement. “What if we took down one of the bunk beds and combined two beds into one so that we can all cuddle together!”

Yang jumped up as well, very excited by this new idea. “Hell yeah! Unless anyone else has something serious to say I move that we go on to group cuddling mode!”

After a pause Blake forwarded the motion and it was passed, in accordance with Robert’s Rules. “We aren’t going to use Robert’s Rules again are we? Please, not even ironically, these things are painful and the opposite of romance.”

Yang walked over and held up Ruby’s bed as Ruby and Weiss started untying it and removing the support structure. “I second that motion.”

Blake threw a book at her, which bounced harmlessly off of her aura. 

A few minutes later Yang appreciated her handiwork as she looked down on the monstrosity of two beds tied together, with pillows and blankets stuffing the gap between them. It certainly looked big enough to fit all of them cozily. 

The first person to take advantage of her handiwork was Blake, who took a knee and offered their outstretched hand to Ruby. “May I?”

A blushing Ruby took hold of the proffered hand. “I would love to.”

With a flourish Blake lifted Ruby off her feet and dive bombed both of them into the new communal bed. Thereafter followed the sounds of whispered feelings and sweet smooches.

A slight pang of discomfort caused Yang to avert her eyes, instead opting to take a seat on the bed and pat her lap with a pointed look at Weiss. “How about it princess? Care to give in to my puns and melt like Weiss Cream?”

Cautiously, Weiss approached Yang. The look in her eyes seemed to be a mixture of awe, desire, and nervousness, but her body language was as defiant as ever. “Never.” Only when she settled comfortably into Yang’s lap did she let herself relax, followed by looking up at her with wide eyes. “Are you going to lay down or not?” By the standard of Weiss, Yang was being positively drooled over. She even noticed that the slender girl’s eyes frequently focused on her biceps.

Laughing, Yang dragged the white haired girl into the bed proper, turning her so that she was pinned down under Yang. “Like this?” Ohh, Weiss was blushing. 

“By the Warp Yang, just kiss me already.”

For a moment Yang leaned in to do just that, but at the last possible second she pulled back, realizing what her new girlfriend had just said. “Wait, holy shit Weiss, you’re secretly a nerd!”

Rather than respond, Weiss grabbed a hold of Yang’s shoulders and pulled herself up to take the kiss herself. She was passionate, insistent, and yet when Yang started kissing back properly she really did start melting like ice cream. Their first kiss was intense, and went on longer than might be considered wholesome.

When they seperated Yang’s heartbeat was pounding and Weiss was already breathing audibly and her pupils were dilated. “Gods Yang, the things I would let you do to me if I was happy with my body.” She barely even whispered it.

“Whoa there, you need to cool down a little.” Yang switched their position so that she was just spooning Weiss from behind. Still she could certainly sympathize with the sentiment. The way it felt to see the heiress lowering her defenses before her charms and just indulge in their shared attraction was exhilarating. 

Then again, so were these tender moments, the Weiss snuggled comfortably into her arms felt so small and vulnerable. Yang felt that she needed to protect her from everything that worried her. “So, nerd huh?”

The soft, beautiful bundle in her arms sighed sarcastically. “Yes, you caught me, congratulations. Would you like my love as a prize?”

“I thought I already had it, but sure I’ll take a second serving.” And for a while they continued like that, tucked away in their own little world.


	9. The new normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some smootching, followed by two dramatic confrontations, planning, and a guilty confession.

_As time goes on,  
I realize  
Just what you mean  
To me  
And now,  
Now that you're near,  
Promise your love  
That I've waited to share  
And dreams  
Of our moments together  
Color my world with hope of loving you_  
-Chicago, Colour my World

Ruby squealed in delight as Blake dumped her into the new communal bed, wrapped themself around her, and whispered into her ear huskily. “I never did get to properly thank you for helping me this morning, is there something you might like from me in return, my leader?”

She blushed as deep amber eyes stared into her silver ones. “W-well, I suppose that there is one thing you could do.” Blake was so warm and gentle with her and Ruby could feel that they were holding themself back to tease her. It was nearly overwhelming how they looked at her with such intense love, and yet somehow at the same time she felt like she was a cookie to them.

They lightly nuzzled Ruby’s cheek. “Mmmmm? What’s that?”

“Well, you could give me a k-kiss.” Something about the way Blake exuded confidence turned Ruby into an absolute mess. She was simply overwhelmed by how much she loved them.

Blake gently cupped her cheek and brought their faces together with a smirk, kissing her softly, their lips pressing together with sweet affection for only a few seconds before they pulled back. “That’s for being the most wonderful, brilliant, and compassionate team leader I could have hoped for. And this,” they kissed her again, harder and longer this time, running their hand through her short hair as she eagerly melted into it, “is for being such an amazing, vibrant, and beautiful person who has continued to have faith in me.”

For a moment Ruby just stared at Blake, dazed. Her insecurity over how good a leader she was hadn’t really ended, especially as she knew that keeping everyone going through this new relationship could be a serious challenge. That they could tell as much and still place their trust in her and even praise her meant so much to Ruby. With a happy hum, she settled her face into the warm nook between Blake’s neck and shoulder as she clung tightly to them. “I won’t let you down Blake, I promise.”

“I know Ruby.” They gently ran their hands through her hair and Ruby could feel them purring, just a little bit, the soothing vibrations rumbling through her body, making her gasp in excitement.

“Blake, you’re purring.” She felt the need to whisper, for fear of disturbing this new and wonderful experience.

They nodded, and kept slowly petting her. For a while they just lay that way, savoring each other. Unfortunately, it ended when Ruby’s stomach growled mightily, prompting her to sit straight up and check her scoll. It was already one in the afternoon.

“Awwwww, I need food. But I also need more cuddles. Why must the flesh betray me like this in its constant need for fuel?”

Upon the mention of food, everyone else seemed to realize that they were also starving and manage to force themselves to separate from their cuddling. Yang in particular complained as well, though not without a flirtatious comment aimed at Weiss. “Geez, never thought I’d be this disappointed to eat lunch, it’s especially hard since I’ve already got this great snack right here.”

Ignoring Weiss’ subsequent protests, Ruby focused on getting herself out of bed and ready to eat, only to be interrupted by a loud gasp from Blake as they sat with their scroll in their trembling hands. In a burst of petals she returned to their side and looked up at them with worry. “Blake? What’s wrong?”

Blake swallowed thickly as their other girlfriends also came close to offer comfort. “I don’t know that it’s a bad thing, but my parents responded to the email I sent them earlier today. I’m kind of afraid to open it. I haven’t communicated with them since... you know.”

“No matter what happens Blake, you’ll always be able to call Ruby’s and my place in Patch home.” Yang comforted them as best she could.

“Thank you, that means a lot, but, I miss them so much, I want them to be a part of my life again.” Blake’s voice cracked as they started to tear up. “Um, I don’t think I’m going to be able to read it, Yang, could you read it out loud?”

“Okay.” Yang took Blake’s scroll and cleared her throat. “Blake, we are so happy to hear from you, and that after everything that’s happened that you’re safe. We’re your parents and we’ll always love, support, and respect you, regardless of gender or sexuality. Please call us if you feel up to it, and maybe if Beacon has a winter break you could come visit us in Menagerie? We miss you so much, with love, mom and dad.”

Ruby let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’s been holding as she loosely held onto Blake’s hand. They were smiling and laughing and crying all at the same time as they excitedly looked between their girlfriends with joy. “They aren’t even mad at me! I-I can’t believe it, hug me!”

Everyone in the room ended up in one big group hug with Blake at the center, who wildly fluctuated between laughter, happy tears, and purring. After a little while they managed to calm down enough to think about food again. “Okay, I’m probably going to call them after lunch, because I’m still starving.”

There was a chorus of agreement, followed by Weiss fiddling nervously. ”We haven’t talked about PDAs yet. Personally, I’d only be comfortable with handholding for emotional support right now. Mostly because I expect to go into that cafeteria and need emotional support.”

With one final squeeze for Blake, Ruby extracted herself from the hug and took Weiss’ hand as she did the same. “I’ll protect you Weiss, don’t worry.”

Weiss smiled nervously and interlaced their fingers. “Thank you Ruby.”

The cafeteria was blessedly mostly empty, thanks to the late hour, combined with resumed classes, though not closed. Ruby could tell that Weiss got a few strange looks as they made their way through the line and to a table, but a certain person was fortunately absent. It made Ruby’s blood boil to think that the despicable man was named after a perfectly respectable brand of gun. 

“Ruby, your grip is a little tight.” Inexplicably, Weiss was clearly enjoying the grip that Ruby had let become painfully tight in her anger and frustration, or maybe she was just angelic enough that Ruby couldn’t tell she was only smiling to save her feelings. That certainly seemed much less like her though. Still, she made an effort to let go. “I didn’t say to stop holding it entirely.” Weiss grabbed her hand back up into her own even as she ate with the other.

“I’m sorry Weiss, I got thinking about how I’m glad Cardin isn’t here right now and then it just makes me so mad that you and Blake have to be worried about people like that at all.”

“Don’t worry Ruby, I promise you, there is nothing those sorts of people can throw at me that’s scarier than the things I’ve already gone through to get this far.” Weiss closed her eyes and slowly trailed a finger over the scar across her eye with a sad smile on her face.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ruby looked up at her girlfriend in worry..

Weiss laughed softly and shook her head. “Lunch is definitely not the time to be talking about the sad days of the past. Why don’t you just tell me about the modifications you’ve been making to Crescent Rose instead?”

Immediately, Ruby managed to switch gears, spending the rest of the meal and the trip back rambling excitedly with Weiss about the amazing things she’d managed to fit into her first love’s design, including but not limited to, a shotgun mode that uses the same ammo as the sniper rifle, a built in toaster powered by fire dust, and an way to quickly fire a round from the bottom of the scythe in case she suddenly needs to cancel a swing. The last idea had come from the way you could cancel attack animations in fighting games. Unfortunately, she lacked the parts for any of them at the moment, and she certainly wasn’t going to dip into the cookie budget. 

However, on the way back, they all had the misfortune of running into the dreaded Cardin Winchester, who attempted to say something. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the feral cat and the rich bo-”

In a single motion Ruby unsheathed Crescent Rose and planted herself between the bully and her team, leaning on her weapon like it was an oversized cane. “Hey Cardin, did you know that transphobes are less likely to have ten fingers than the average person?” She did her best to keep her voice cool as she did it, but the end came out as nearly a growl. She was not putting up with this shit.

“Are you threatening me kid?” Cardin seemed to be uncomfortably torn between playing the victim and threatening her back.

“Not at all, just a fun little piece of trivia. Some other interesting facts are that your dorm room’s location is public information, and that I have a friend with a stealth semblance, so if I were you, I’d think very carefully about what I say to me and my team from now on.” She trembled with anger as Cardin slowly backed away before flat out retreating with his team. 

After standing frozen like that for a minute, Yang suddenly clapped her shoulder. “Sis, that was badass. Probably assault, but still badass.”

“Oh no, am I going to get kicked out?” Ruby put away Crescent Rose and slid down the wall with her head in her hands, mind racing with all the things that were going to happen to her now.

Blake took a seat next to her. “That may have been a little bit of a questionable thing to do, but the faculty knows how Cardin is, if this makes him shut up for good, I don’t really think they’ll hold it against you too much. I’m sure they’ll understand that you’re just trying to protect us.” 

Weiss took a seat on her other side. “Plus, I hate to use influence like this, but we’re literally a part of the inner circle of the Headmaster of Beacon, who is on the Council. As long as we aren’t being evil I don’t think it’s really possible to get kicked out or put in jail.”

“Oh yeah, I guess we are privileged now. I hadn’t really thought about it like that.” Ruby took a moment, just letting herself calm down with her partners on either side of her. Then she stood back up with a bit of a shy grin. “I guess that was kinda badass huh. But how could it be assault when I never touched him?” 

Yang grinned sheepishly this time. “Assault is threatening violence upon someone, battery is following through with the threat. I may have more experience with the distinction than I should.” 

There was an unsurprised collective sigh at Yang’s admission. Ruby decided to give her partners a hand getting up in the hopes of getting back to their dorm more quickly. 

This time, they managed to avoid any unpleasant interruptions, instead opting to use to time to make fun of Cardin and his stupid, mean face. In other words, productively. 

Once they got back Blake split off privately for a few minutes, no doubt calling their parents. And Weiss, being a week ahead in coursework at all times, was determined to ensure that they all make up for the classes they missed today by listening to her replacement lecture. Unsurprisingly, her lecture managed to be shorter than the ones given by Port, and much more easy to follow than Oobleck’s. She somehow even managed to cram the five hours of class they normally had into a three hour lecture that left everyone with a satisfactory understanding of the material and printed copies of Weiss’ handwritten notes. 

Once they finally finished Ruby groaned and flopped into the communal bed. There was a big difference between some spread out classes and learning an entire day’s worth of material in a single sitting. “Weissy, I love you but please, brain no more work.”

Weiss tsked at her jokingly as she got in beside her. “Weissy? Is that really the best you've got Rosebud?”

There was a short chuckle from Blake as they followed suit and lay next to Weiss. “That’s a good one, but I highly doubt that Ruby has ever seen Citizen Kane.”

She indeed did not understand.

As per the new norm, a cuddle pile formed as they bantered, with Ruby and Yang on the outsides. 

Eventually, Yang spoke up with a realization. “Tomorrow's Tuesday, so who’s going out on a date?”

Turning away from Ruby to instead look at Blake, Weiss ended up volunteering, albeit she sounded almost shy. “Well, if everyone’s okay with it, I’d really like to go on a date with Blake.”

“What a coincidence, I would adore going on a date with you Weiss.”

Something about that sent a pang through Ruby. Alternating between cuddling with Blake and Weiss was one thing. The idea that they were going to be spending some private time with each other left her somehow feeling excluded. Even though she knew that she wasn’t, that they still both cared for her in those moments. At the same time she felt a little bit guilty about it.

She squirmed uncomfortably for a moment before gathering her voice. “I know it’s not very reasonable of me, but thinking about you two being together on your own makes me feel kind of excluded. I don’t want you to not do that date, but um, I think that might be me being kinda jealous, in a way.” 

Weiss seemed to understand what she was feeling. “Ruby, please don’t feel guilt about your emotions. It’s okay that you’re worried like that. I’m not really sure that there’s anything we can do about it except talk, and I promise you that we’re both coming back to you. So please keep us posted about how you feel about us, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks Weiss.” She did feel a little bit better already. Still nervous, but better at telling herself that there was nothing to be afraid of was easier and more convincing now that Weiss had said it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay there's gonna be an awesome, feelsy monochrome date next chapter!


	10. The first of many

_The principles of lust  
Are easy to understand...  
Do what you feel  
Feel until the end_

_The principles of lust  
Are burnt in your mind...  
Do what you want  
Do it until you find   
Love_  
-Enigma, The Principles of Lust

Weiss awoke on the morning of the first date to ever mean something to her with the realization that she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do. Not only did she have no knowledge of local businesses that could be found in Vale, she didn’t even know where she might begin to feel comfortable in public like that. She refused on principle to wear men’s clothes again, but the things she had ordered online with Ruby’s help were almost certainly not going to arrive today. While it was very nice and comforting to wear her girlfriend’s clothes, she would really prefer to maintain her personal white and blue color palette in public. 

With a sigh of resignation she ran her fingers through her short hair again. She loved the way the numerous soft thin strands flowed through her fingers, but they didn’t even reach her neck. She hated that it would probably take years to grow to the kind of lengths she wanted out from the abominable military cut her father had dictated of her. Gods, it really was going to take her forever to pass. Still, she glanced at Ruby’s adorably sleeping form next to her, there would always be plenty of people here to help her through it.

Arms wrapped around her from behind as Blake whispered into her ear. “So stranger, got any plans for this evening?”

“Well, I do intend to go on a date with my wonderful partner, but I simply have no clue where to go.” Weiss kept her voice low to avoid disturbing the two people who managed to still sleep.

“Oh that’s tricky, good thing I know an intimate, out of the way little place in Vale with wonderful food. I’m even friends with the owners.” 

Gratefully, Weiss took one of Blake’s open hands in her own and rubbed their palm with her thumb. “That sounds like exactly the kind of place where we could both be comfortable.” Distantly, there was a distinct ping from Weiss’ scroll. “As much as I regret it, you need to let me go now Blake, it’s time for my meds.”

Blake grumbled a little as Weiss got out of their bed and went into the bathroom to perform her new and improved morning routine. The only changes so far were that the clothes she changed into currently belonged to Ruby, and the sweet sweet estrogen and spironolactone she took, but she expected that eventually she wouldn’t need to shave her face every day. 

When she came out Ruby quickly rushed in to take her place, leaving only Yang in the room at the moment. “Where’d Blake go?”

“Sounded like they were making reservations for tonight.” Yang was just lounging casually in their bed in her tank top, her muscled arms on display. Weiss swallowed and averted her eyes with a mixture of embarrassment and worry over what she was about to admit next. Weiss had felt a little bit awkward about her attraction to Yang since yesterday.

“So, about what I said yesterday, after we kissed. You handled it really well and I am sorry that I did that. I know that I come across as someone who has large amounts of self control, but when it comes to matters of physical attraction, I am disgracefully weak at times. Despite this I am aware that I am nowhere near prepared for any kind of sexual activity. But if I ever get caught up in the moment, could you please stop me for my own good?”

It didn’t help her self-control that Yang was by far the person on the team that she felt the most intense raw physical attraction to. She found herself very weak to tall girls and muscular girls, and Yang was very both, especially relative to her slim physique. 

“Don’t worry about slipping up with me Weiss, I have a lot of experience with unwelcome attention and yours is very welcome, even if you aren’t going to be able to follow through anytime soon. And I’m honored that you trust me enough to let me safeguard you that way.”

“Thanks Yang, it means a lot to have you looking out for me.” The nerves in Weiss’ stomach untangled as she stepped into a big strong Yang hug. 

“I got you Snowflake, no matter what, I promise.” Yang lifted Weiss into the air to bring their faces even with each other as they stared into each other's eyes. Slowly, she leaned in and Weiss didn’t stop her, nor did she want to. They kissed a few times, lightly, tenderly, safely, each just appreciating the presence of the other.

Later at breakfast Weiss made a point of sitting next to Ruby and holding her hand, even as she flirted with Blake and attempted to coax further details of the upcoming date out of them. The rest of the morning she primarily spent reading and chatting on her scroll as her partners went about various activities with Blake in their confined dorm. She watched them out of the corner of her eye, pleased to see them together, and in growing anticipation of the time they would be alone with each other that night. 

**Weissicle: how is it possible that there have been nearly 36 hours in which Nora hasn’t barged into our room? I’m almost starting to miss her  
NoraSmash:I’ll have you know that we have been very busy and simply don’t have the time for room barging anymore   
Jauned’Arc:what she means is that she and Ren have been too busy to get out bed except for meals and pancakes  
RedLikeRoses:ewwwwww  
PyrrhicVictory: it has been fortunately restricted to making out, but I agree with the sentiment   
KansaiNoRyū:is that not the same as what you and Jaume have been doing to pass this time without classes?  
DragonofDojima:nice username there Ren, shame we’re now doomed to fight each other to the death  
Weissicle:do I need to drag you four into the lessons I’ve been giving to keep everyone caught up with the material?  
PyrrhicVictory:that is completely different, Jaune and I make far less noise than Nora  
NoraSmash:no Weiss please making me learn instead of make out with Ren would be like taking the emotional support dog of a Great War vet and then killing it in front of them  
catNapper:please, if Ruby can stop kissing and cuddling to learn things then you can stop making out  
NoraSmash:WHAT  
RedLikeRoses:Blaaaaake, I was gonna wait until we were all in the same room so that I can see their faces  
NoraSmash:who is it? Is it Weiss? If it’s anyone other than Weiss I will gladly help Yang smash their face in  
catNapper:well, I haven’t told them who with yet  
DragonofDojima:interesting, I wonder if Ren will make a profit against Nora’s future sight this time  
NoraSmash: Weiss, you’re dating Ruby, right?  
Weissicle: interesting hypothesis, I will confer with those affected as to whether you will be made privy to this information  
NoraSmash:Aha! That means the answer is yes!  
Weissicile:the council has determined that there is no comment, however if you wish to know for sure, come to my replacement lecture after lunch and all will be revealed, probably  
Jauned’Arc:seeing as how someone has to be responsible I’ll make sure to drag everyone over, thank you Weiss  
KansaiNoRyū:I am becoming mildly concerned that I may end up owing Nora a lot of Lien  
Weissicle:noon sharp, I’m not risking you lot delaying my evening  
NoraSmash:no way, I’ve made some insane predictions but that one was basically just a joke  
NoraSmash:ohhhh is it a _romantic_ evening**

Weiss chuckled as she put away her scroll, having finished preparing for the afternoon. She was simultaneously impressed and terrified by Nora’s power of deduction, as was everyone else who knew her. “Ruby, want to come over here and charge up my snuggle battery before lunch?”

With an expression that reminded her of a chipmunk Ruby rushed over to Weiss and happily snuggled up to her. “I love it when my snowflake needs snuggles.”

“That’s the pet name that’s catching on hmmm? Could be worse I suppose. Snowflake certainly loves cuddling you Ruby.” 

“Why not Rosebud, I liked that one.”

“While it is adorable, in the context of the movie it represents something that Kane lost as a child and never regained, and I have no intention of losing you.” Weiss gave her a kiss on the forehead. 

“Oh, okay.” Ruby seemed hesitant to say something, so for a while Weiss just took the time to tenderly pet and kiss her. “Weiss, what do we do if we get a crush on someone new?” 

That was unexpected. Weiss looked around the room to see that Yang and Blake were both paying attention to them now. “Well, I suppose that if we all approve of them then they might join the polycule as a metamor and maybe date more of us if we fall in love with them too.” She looked towards Blake for confirmation. 

“Yeah, I suppose I would be open to that possibility. Yang?” 

“Sounds tricky, but if Rubes approves of someone they’re almost guaranteed to be wonderful, so I don’t see why not.” Yang shrugged. 

“The only potential issue I see is that dating too many people wouldn’t work because of time being limited. I think that if we ever reach six people that would be a good number to stop at. Partially because of the quantity aspect of it, but also,” Weiss took a deep breath and exhaled nervously, “because six is the sacred number of my deity and this kind of relationship is something that I would consider to be in their domain. It would be quite appropriate if we did somehow get up to six people.” 

Blake raised an eyebrow in their direction. “Huh, I wouldn’t have expected you to be religious Weiss.”

With a mysterious smile Weiss tsked Blake. “I am simply full of surprises I assure you, and most of them are quite pleasant. Only a few are comparable to those snakes that people put in jars. Though back on the subject at hand, Ruby, is there already someone that you like?”

“No, it’s more that there’s someone I think I might want to join us someday, but we aren’t really close enough to have feelings yet because of some circumstances.” 

Weiss nodded. “Well, I look forward to the day when you get to know them better.” 

Eventually, as it always must, lunchtime came. It passed without incident, save the way team JNPR continuously attempted to deduce who Ruby was dating from her behavior. Their conclusions were uncertain however, due to Weiss and Blake’s deliberate effort to flirt with her in exactly equal amounts and give her equal amounts of attention. 

The teaching that followed lunch however, did indeed end up dragging on to uncomfortable lengths. The addition of people required additional individual attention, and time. At four Weiss let Blake leave early, saying that there was something they wanted to do before the evening, which caused much renewed speculation. Finally, after five hours of educating the rowdy friends that she loved anyway, Weiss sighed and let herself fall into Yang’s bed. 

“I’m done, you’re all caught up for today.” Five of the six people sitting on the team RWBY communal bed sighed and relaxed in similar, though more cramped, fashion. 

Nora, however, seemed to only perk up more than ever before. “Alright, you have to tell us now right? You better!”

Coyly, Weiss shrugged. “Dunno, that’s up to Ruby. Yang, please come over here, I need your help to recharge.”

A massive shit-eating grin materialized on Yang’s face as she got up and walked over to Weiss. “With pleasure, snowflake.” Dramatically, she leaned down and kissed Weiss while standing over her, prompting cries of surprise and confusion from Nora, Jaune, and Pyrrha, while Ren just sighed morbidly. 

There was a rush of uproarious giggling from Ruby that followed. “Okay, okay, we can stop messing with them now. Guys, I’m dating Weiss _and_ Blake, and they’re dating each other and Yang.” 

In the commotion that followed, Weiss found herself dragged out of Yang’s bed and interrogated, until she was saved by the blissful relief of a message from Blake telling her to meet them in the campus gardens. “Sorry, but I have a date, have fun you lot.” Abandoning Yang and Ruby to their fates, Weiss headed out to the gardens.

Initially, Weiss didn’t even recognize Blake from behind. They had gotten their hair cut short, and when she did identify them they were even more beautiful than they had been before, androgynously now. They were wearing a heavy black shirt and white tailcoat with black jeans. For a moment Weiss was simply speechless at how wonderful her partner was. 

“Hey Blake, your new haircut is...” she searched for a word to describe it without being implicitly gendered, “amazing.”

They smiled as they took hold of her hand. “I find both handsome and beautiful to be flattering terms when I’m described. And you’re quite cute yourself Weiss, as usual.” 

“I know that I’m not cute or pretty or anything like that Blake, you don’t need to compliment me like that.” Weiss looked down at herself, she was wearing a white blouse and knee length red skirt, both borrowed from Ruby, and she knew full well that her body didn’t really fit into either of them yet, that she had no curves at all.

“Weiss Schnee, I love everything about the person that you are and your body doesn’t change the absolute fact that you are adorable and beautiful in the slightest.” They took a knee dramatically and kissed her knuckle. “Now, would you like to come with me on a lovely date where you will be nice to yourself, lest you lose my company?”

With a shy smile Weiss pulled Blake up to their feet and into a hug. “Yes, I would like that very much. Thank you Blake.” Blake’s words had a powerful effect on her, and she found herself believing that she was in fact beautiful in their eyes despite all logic. 

They separated from their hug, and started walking to the airship docks hand in hand, enjoying the sunset and the green world around them in comfortable silence. The airship they took was mostly deserted, save one other potential couple.

As she sat next to Blake Weiss found herself dearly wanting to settle herself comfortably into their arms. Instead, she leaned her head gently against their shoulder and whispered “is this okay?”

Blake chuckled and wrapped their arm around her shoulders. “It’s wonderful Weiss, but why are you whispering?” 

“Something about the atmosphere I suppose, a nearly empty airship, a beautiful sunset, my beautiful partner. I want this moment to last as long as possible.” The rest of the trip was passed in loving silence.

Night had fallen fully by the time they had disembarked the airship, and Blake led Weiss slowly through the dim back streets of Vale. The alleys and turns made Weiss’ free hand unconsciously wander closer to Myrtenaster at her hip, so different were they from the wide open spaces she was accustomed to. Still, she knew she felt more comfortable here than she would in the middle of a crowd of unknown origin. 

By the time they reached their destination, the sharp smell of the sea had permeated the air and the stars and moon were fully out in the night sky. Weiss looked up at the decrepitly charming sign above the small storefront. “‘Grills and Gays’? Well I suppose that’s certainly an apt name for our date.”

The inside of the restaurant was similarly simplistic, though in a distinctly charming way. There were only a few dim lights and soft candles scattered about a dining room that only held 10 tables and a few booths that looked out upon the open sea and stars that were the primary source of lighting. Only a wooden siding separated the room from the gentle waves lapping outside. Most of the scattering of patrons currently present were faunus, and almost all of them were visibly queer.

As soon as Blake stepped in, having held the door open for Weiss, the burly, dog-eared, host in his forties scooped them up into a bear hug. “Blake! And you’ve finally brought a date with you this time! Even if they are rather scrawny.” 

Blake nodded proudly as they were released. “Yes Pavlov, this is one of my girlfriends, Weiss.” 

Weiss stepped forward with her hand extended, smiling. “Weiss Schnee, she/her, good to meet you.”

“A Schnee? Blake, are you sure we don’t need to secretly drug her food?” Pavlov scrutinized her for a moment before accepting her hand and proceeding to crush it in his grip. “Well, she has a respectable enough grip I suppose. Still, you’re paying double for your meal young lady.”

“I suppose I may, if I deem it to be worth double it’s listed price.” Weiss raised an eyebrow confrontationally. 

There was a glint of good-natured anger in Pavlov’s eyes as he glared at Weiss. “Are you challenging the quality of my husband’s cooking?” 

At this point Blake stepped in. “Pavlov please, the only thing you’re allowed to threaten her with is good food.” 

“I assure you, that is exactly what I intend to do, now take these menus and a booth, it’s a lovely night out there.”

With Weiss trailing behind them Blake slid into a booth, patting the spot right next to them before she could agonise over whether they were going to sit next to or across from each other. Weiss slid in next to them, but was careful not to sit too close yet, lest she end up too distracted to read the menu in a timely manner. 

“So how is it that you know Pavlov?” 

“He helped me escape from you-know-who and brought me into Vale.” 

“Ah.” There was a slightly awkward pause as Weiss started to read over the menu. While she did a stiff sea breeze blew in, causing her to shiver in her poorly thought out outfit. 

“Here.” Blake took off their coat and wrapped it around Weiss’ shoulders. It was warm, and it smelled like them. 

Weiss smiled appreciatively at them and as she did came upon a realization. “Why is it that you’re treating me like this? That is, so notably chivalrously?”

“Well, whenever Yang calls you princess I can tell that you do your own equivalent of swooning over her, so I thought we might both enjoy it if I treated you like one. Also, I enjoy being extra nice to women that I love.”

“You were correct, more than correct even, I do believe that you’ve completely melted my defenses for the evening.” She gave up her self-restraint and leaned comfortably against their side, tilting the menu to adjust for the new angle. In response, they wrapped their arm around her, placing a hand against the bare skin of her forearm and gently rubbing with their thumb. Another shiver traveled through Weiss’ body, though this time it was more from warmth than cold.

“Good, it makes me very happy to see you be able to relax and enjoy the moment Weiss.” 

Having made her decisions on what to order, Weiss closed her eyes and ran a finger gently along the scar over her eye. “Moments like this are a blessing, no existential terror, no weight of being the supposed heir to the SDC, just you and me, and the pleasure of each other’s company.” 

Blake lightly pecked her cheek. “You have a habit of touching that scar when you’re happy, what’s it from?”

“Well, in a way it could be considered a reminder of my father’s...” the most accurate word was abuse, but Weiss wanted to keep this evening happy. “Poor parenting. But what I choose to think of it as is a blessing from my deity. I got it while fighting an arma gigas. I won that fight, on my own. It was what convinced my father to let me come here to Beacon. I’ll never forget the pain and the taste of the blood that trickled into my mouth when it happened, it sounds strange but, I found both sensations to be exquisite, and I have ever since.” Weiss looked up at Blake, for a fleeting moment she was afraid that there may be judgment in their eyes.

But Blake stared at her with nothing but love as they cupped her cheek in their free hand, trailing their thumb along the outside of her eye. “Weiss, that’s incredible.” They stared at each other for a moment, bathed in the light of the moon and stars, before Blake leaned in and claimed Weiss’ lips.

That’s what it felt like, that they were claiming her, wrapping her in their embrace and promising to keep her safe as they kissed deeply, though not quite with tongue. They may have spent minutes or only seconds like that before Pavlov shook them out of it by loudly clearing his throat.

“If I may deign to interrupt and take your orders?” Weiss blushed and hastily separated herself from Blake’s face at the interruption, instead burying her head in their shoulder.

Blake petted her as they ordered. “I’ll have the mahi mahi tuna. Weiss, is it okay if I order a drink for myself?”

Shyly, she poked her head up and wordlessly shook it in response. Flashes of her mother’s decline into drink went through her head even as she tried to suppress them and turn to Pavlov. “And I’ll have the seafood gumbo.”

“Oh really? I’m warning you, that stuff’s pretty spicy, don’t go blaming us if you get beat up from inside your mouth.” Pavlov grinned sadistically.

“I’ll have you know that I quite enjoy getting beat up, and while the privilege of doing so is ordinarily exclusively provided to any current partner that I may have, I am open to extending it to food of excellent quality.” Weiss stared him down until he walked away, seemingly satisfied.

“Wow Weiss, you really are a masochist.”

“What can I say love, it’s a blessing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoo longest chapter yet!
> 
> props to you if you get all of my references
> 
> at this point it's actually possible to put together exactly who Weiss worships if you recognize the clues and put them together


	11. Easy Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everything is obscenely fluffy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! This one took a while because I've got exams, projects, and finals happening. Also because I got really thirsty and wrote something else in a very short time. Expect a spike in productivity starting next Tuesday because at that point I'll be done with most things other than calc 2. Never thought that I would miss trigonometric substitution but polar equations are now the worst thing I know

_This is a thing I've never known before  
It's called easy livin'  
This is a place I've never seen before  
And I've been forgiven_

_Easy livin' and I've been forgiven  
Since you've taken your place in my heart_  
-Uriah Heep, Easy Livin’

“What can I say love, it’s a blessing.”

It nearly stopped Blake’s heart whenever one of their girlfriends said that they loved them out of the blue. It was an aspect of relationships that she had never truly experienced, and it left them wanting to sweep the beautiful heiress at their side off of her feet even more than normal. Though considering that they were already snuggled up about as close together as can be appropriate in an intimately lit restaurant, there wasn’t much room to do so. 

“Are you religious as well?” As they had been contemplating Weiss’ loveliness, she had turned back around to face them and stare into their eyes with a smile on her face.

“No, my parents didn’t bring me up as such, though I don’t know whether they are or not, and my experiences with religion in the you-know-what were rather negative.” Of all the people in the White Fang that Blake had known, those who prayed to their gods for the extinction of humanity were perhaps the most deeply terrifying. 

“Why don’t you ask them?” 

For a moment Blake stared at her in confusion, then laughed softly as they realized that they could. “Oh yeah, I can. It’s weird, I’m still getting used to the fact that I have a family again, and that it consists of my teammates and my parents.”

“I suppose we are a family, aren’t we?” Weiss stared out over the ocean, her eyes focused on a point in the distance. “I miss the rest of my family. Well, mother and Winter.”

“What’s your mother like?” Blake hadn’t seen much of Winter over the course of the Vytal Festival, but what they had seen hadn’t given them a favorable impression. They figured that she must be a good person to have Weiss’ approval, but at the same time she came across as a very strict military type. The kind of person who would listen to authority rather than deviate in order to do the right thing, a trait that Blake found concerning.

“She is an incredibly kind person, to a fault even.” As Weiss spoke she seemed to grow increasingly distant, staring out at the lapping waves beyond the restaurant with a vacant look in her eyes. “Most of the things I’m able to remember about her are just little moments of connection though, I can’t say a lot about who she really is. I think my earliest memory is of listening to her play the piano with Winter. She was amazing, but it’s been a long time since she’s been sober or happy enough to play. Still, she took good care of me in my earlier childhood, and I don’t fault her for her habits. Anyone who lives in that mansion is just doing what they have to to survive.” 

Wordlessly, Blake pulled Weiss into them, running their hand through her hair. They knew what it was like to feel unsafe in your own supposed home. They couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to live that way for nearly your entire life. 

There was a sound, barely even a whisper, that drifted vulnerably from the girl in their embrace. “The thing about growing up in a place that isn’t safe is that when you find a new family it’s one of the most incredible feelings imaginable. It’s more than I ever knew life could be.” 

“Oh Weiss, I’m so sorry you had to live through that.” Blake looked into Weiss’ eyes, and they could see tears forming in them, so they gently kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her eyelids, then pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear. “I want you to come with me to Kuo Kuana during the Winter break, please. Come meet my parents, I’m sure they’ll love you almost as much as I do.”

Weiss separated from the hug and flashed Blake with a smile akin to the shifting shafts of shimmering light that shine through the clouds as a storm begins to pass. “I would love that.” She leaned forward and captured Blake’s lips in a kiss that ended all too quickly. “Why stop at me though? Maybe all four of us should get to know the rest of our family members?” 

“It is a six week vacation, we certainly have the time to visit my parents and then Ruby and Yang’s dad.” Blake nodded approvingly, they realized that they really wanted to introduce their girlfriends to their parents, and from what Ruby and Yang said about him, Taiyang sounded like someone worth knowing as well. 

“I bet if Yang was here she’d do that terrible impression of him and say something foolish like ‘as long as I get grandkids I’m happy.’” Weiss’ impression of Yang doing an impression of Taiyang was hopelessly convoluted and yet surprisingly accurate, and Blake snickered, both at the impression and the mental image it conjured.

“Can you imagine the chaos that a little horde of Belladonna-Schnee-Rose-Xiao-Longs would create? I bet that Ruby and Yang would probably just cheer them on whenever they started trouble too.” They wondered whether children of a faunus and a human were guaranteed to be one or the other.

“I assure you, members of the Schnee bloodline are much better behaved than those two beautiful dolts.” 

“Oh really? Are Schnees that _virile,_ that they can overpower the genes of the forces of chaos known as Yang and Ruby?” Blake winked flirtatiously at Weiss, mostly joking. Mostly joking about having a woman’s children. Oh, huh. They couldn’t account for the other forty-nine point nine percent of their statement. Certainly, they loved Weiss, and all their girlfriends, and they couldn’t really imagine going on to live life as a hunter without them, and okay wow they were seriously thinking about having Weiss children. Way too soon Blake, way too soon.

Rather than speak, Weiss’ mouth simply spent a moment opening and closing in a manner that much resembled the fish Blake expected to eat for their upcoming dinner as she stared at them. Gradually, she managed to clear her throat and recover, acting as if nothing had happened. “I’m something of a force of Chaos myself, though not quite in the same manner as they are. Furthermore, I doubt that you’ve ever heard of another family with a hereditary hair color and semblance, so clearly there’s something special about us.” She put a finger on her temple in a moment of pause. “Actually, the fact that our semblance is hereditary is extremely strange. I don’t know why I haven’t questioned it before now.”

“Yeah, how does that even happen? I guess if you had two ancestors, one of who’s semblance was the ability to pass down semblances to their children and then they had kids with someone with your summoning semblance? Anything else just wouldn’t make much sense.” 

Both of them shrugged. “That’s a reasonable theory. I wonder if that would mean that it becomes a little bit different with each generation though, seeing as how we don’t inbreed.”

Looking up, Blake realized that Pavlov had most likely heard Weiss’ last word and nothing else, as he was currently preparing to dump her gumbo over her head. “Pavlov no! We were talking about her family.” 

After a moment of flickering between annoyance and confusion, the burly waiter set the gumbo back on his serving plate with a sigh that could have indicated either disappointment or relief. “Good, I’d hate to waste good food like that, bon appetit.” Weiss’ gumbo and Blake’s tuna were promptly deposited before them and the man glided away with an exaggerated bow.

“What a strange person.” Weiss took her spoon and tested the temperature of the gumbo.

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked about his name.” Blake dug into their tuna, knowing it would be at exactly the right temperature.

“I have enough awareness to suppress my curiosity and comments about that sort of thing as much as I can. Though if you are bringing it up, am I about to find out?” Weiss took a bite of gumbo and closed her eyes, nodding in approval. 

“He picked it himself, whenever someone asks him about it he gives them a hard time, and then if he likes them he tells them that he was only fucking with them.” 

“Clever use of an opportunity to choose your own name, I like it. Almost as much as this food.” Despite having only just started Weiss’ eyes already seemed to be tearing up.

“How spicy is it?” Blake was slightly concerned about her.

“Spicy enough that I’m already hot and bothered, in both possible senses of the entendre. Furthermore, it is absolutely delicious.” Weiss was almost as red as Ruby’s cape at this point.

“Sometimes I think that we’re the only reasonable people on this team, and now I realize that even you are secretly just as weird as those two.” Seeing parts of Weiss like this was such an amazing experience, not just in the way that it made Blake further realize how adorable she was, but also that she could be herself around them and show these parts of herself that she would normally hide.

“While I do not claim to be normal, in the majority of my actions you will find me to be just as capable as anyone else. You, however, should reconsider including yourself in the category of not being weird, seeing as how you once received a present from Yang and then proceeded to disregard the gift in favor of playing with the box.”

“Fair enough. Though I assure you, I love your inner chaos just as much as I admire your discipline and intelligence.” Blake gave Weiss a quick peck on the lips, careful to avoid secondhand spice. 

Despite the briefness of their kiss, it seemed to leave Weiss very flustered, and she tugged insistently on Blake’s arm as she let out a very quiet whimper. “I would appreciate it if you gave me this arm for a while for the sake of physical contact, though nothing inappropriate of course.” 

With an ecstatic smile Blake acquiesced, following Weiss’ guidance to bring their arm around her and start rubbing her forearm firmly. Weiss was adorable like this, they loved how physically needy, flushed, and shy she was being, and was proud that they were partially responsible. 

The rest of their meal passed in comfortable near silence, save the occasional murmur of delight. Weiss happily paid the bill for double the menu price of her food, leading Pavlov to nod in grim approval. 

Even though it was relatively early in the evening, they both decided to head back to their dorm room after dinner, as Weiss in particular was rather tired. 

For the trip back to Beacon they were fortunately alone on the airship, leading Weiss to rest her head in Blake’s lap as they stroked her hair. “I really appreciate getting to see you like this Weiss, you’re so sweet and vulnerable, yet adorably and unexpectedly wild.”

“Yes, well, I am drastically more motivated to control myself around Ruby, because she’s still young, and around Yang, because... well you know, she has those great big... tracts of land, and I am in no position to actually go any farther than a bit of innuendo and clinginess.”

With a giggle, Blake leaned in and gave their girlfriend a kiss. “Well, I think that this evening has been very special, and I look forward to those that are yet to come.”

“As do I.” Weiss had a dreamy smile on her face, but perked to attention as Blake gently scratched the back of her head. “Blake, I’m not sure if this is something I’m supposed to ever ask, but may I touch your ears?”

At that Blake flushed a deep red. “Ah, well... yes. But it's, um, considered a very intimate thing to do, so only at times when we are in private or with friends. I should tell Ruby and Yang that they may as well.” 

“Mmmm, I need to stay awake long enough to do that for a while once we get back home then.” She leaned up with great difficulty and smirked, looking Blake in the eye. “Got any ideas on how to pass the time?” 

Without hesitation Blake locked lips with Weiss. They stared simply, but Weiss cautiously opened her mouth, to which they added their tongue. With a need to be closer they shifted her into their lap and deepened the kiss, savoring Weiss’ muffled moans. 

They didn’t really separate until the intercom announced that they had reached their destination all too soon. Blake bit their lip as they separated themselves and straightened their clothes. Kisses like that did a lot to bring up certain thoughts of what they would like to do to Weiss. A subject that they had plenty of mixed feelings and trauma associated with. Still, they dearly enjoyed the kiss itself. 

The walk back to their dorm was short and sweet, holding hands and sneaking affectionate glances at each other were the orders of the moment. When they arrived they were greeted by a surprisingly calm Ruby and Yang doing their homework. 

Weiss hurries into the bathroom to prepare for bed as Blake took the opportunity to languish in bed and talk to Ruby. 

“Hey Ruby, how are you feeling about how we went out?” 

Looking up, Ruby smiled as brightly as usual. “Well, now that you’ve come back I’m really happy for both of you. I keep thinking about what you must have been doing and how cute it probably was. While you were gone I was sort of weirdly anxious. I know better but I kept thinking that you two were going to run off alone or something.”

Raising an eyebrow, Blake hummed in acknowledgment. Ruby probably had separation anxiety, which would explain why she came off a bit clingy sometimes. “Well, speaking of being separated, Weiss and I had a bit of an idea on what we’re going to do over winter break. I invited her to come meet my parents and I want to invite both of you as well. We wondered if we could spend half the break there and then the second half with your dad, as a team.”

An ecstatic gasp jumped out of Ruby’s throat as she jumped onto Blake. “Blake, YES! OhmygoshIwouldlovetomeetyourparentsandthenyoucanmeetmine.”

Rolling with the tackle, Blake laughed and ruffled Ruby’s hair. “I’m guessing you’re on board too Yang?”

A maniacal cackle was the next sound to fill the room. “Oh I assure you, not only will I delight in the opportunity to embarrass you in front of your parents, I will do everything in my pun-er to embarrass your parents as well.”

“I’m glad that we can agree that you’re an embarrassment Yang.” Ruby stuck her tongue out at her sister. 

Blake carefully extricated themself from the imminent tussle between sisters, instead looking towards Weiss, who had just emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas. “They agreed to the winter plans.” 

Hesitantly, Weiss walked back to bed and started spooning Blake from behind. “Wonderful, now all I have to do is clear it with... that man.” Rather than dwell, she chose to slowly reach up to Blake’s head, petting gradually closer to their cat ears. 

“Go ahead Weiss, just be gentle, they are sensitive.” The encouragement caused Weiss’ hands to finally reach their destination, where they began to carefully stroke the outside of Blake’s ear. 

From deep within their chest, Blake could feel a purr starting to build, and they let it. Letting someone touch their ears again after all this time was wonderful. Weiss’ careful touch sent warmth through their body and made them feel truly safe in her arms. In the time they spent laying there, they eventually felt someone small and energetic join Weiss by gently handing their other ear. Then later, a large body wrapped itself around both them and Weiss and took a turn gently fondling their ears. 

Gradually they drifted to sleep, lulled by the comforting touches and happy vibrations of their purrs.


	12. Branwen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visit from Qrow leads to a heated confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw:alcoholism (Qrow)
> 
> Bit of a more serious chapter

_All my designs, simplified  
And all of my plans, compromised  
And all of my dreams..._

_Did you see the redness block your part?  
Did the scissors cut a way to your heart?  
Did you feel the end before the suns of mothers  
Tearing you apart?_

_Arriving somewhere but not here_  
-Porcupine Tree, Arriving Somewhere But Not Here

The morning after Blake and Weiss went on their first date, Yang was awoken by a respectful knocking at their door. Expecting it to be Ren borrowing chocolate chips again, she mumbled something along the lines of come in at the door. The sound of the door swinging open was followed by an exasperated sigh that most certainly did not belong to Ren, and then a voice that she recognized very well indeed.

“Oh no, not again.” Qrow Branwen stood in the doorway, looking down at the bed full of cuddling teammates with a mixture of pride, concern, and amusement. Then by a resigned look upward in order to take an extra long swig from the flask he wore on his hip. 

Stretching, Yang propped herself up on an elbow and questioningly raised an eyebrow at Qrow, even as he was tackled by Ruby. “Hey drunkle Qrow, to what do we owe the pleasure?” She briefly weighed the tactical advantages of dogpiling him with her sister against staying mostly cuddled around Blake and Weiss, who were each partially awake, though Weiss was probably just faking it to stay smooshed for as long as she could. Unsurprisingly, her partners won out.

Chuckling, Qrow hauled his ass off the floor with Ruby sitting on his shoulder before frowning at the three people determined to stay in bed. “I just wanted to stop by and make sure you’re all handling things well enough, seeing as how you’ve missed the past two days of class, but based on the sleeping arrangement that I’ve just walked in on, I’m guessing that we have a lot to discuss.” He sighed as he stepped in and locked the door behind him.

There was a muffled groan from next to Yang as Weiss tried to rotate her head until she was no longer being accidentally smothered by her partners. “Is it really that obvious?”

“Wa- er, Weiss, your head was being crushed between the chests of both Yang and Blake up until a moment ago.” Yang was relieved that Qrow corrected his gaffe as quickly as he did.

Before Yang could get a good look at her face, Weiss sat up, jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom. “It’s not like that sir! Excuse me while I freshen up!”

More chuckling followed her retreat as Qrow shook his head. “Schnees. They’re all so uptight. We can talk about this apparent relationship once she gets out of there, until then, how are you kids doing?”

At that Ruby decided to lightly bash Qrow’s head in protest. “Uncle Qrow, we’re not kids anymore.”

“You are, whether or not you want to believe it. Especially you kiddo, none of you are even twenty, even with the life and death experience you have, there’s still a hell of a lot you all need to learn. But hey, I’m not supposed to be here to lecture you, that’s Tai’s job. I’m just here to make sure my favorite nieces and their team are taking care of themselves.” Qrow flopped himself into a chair, causing Ruby to tumble from her perch on his shoulder before bursting into petals that reformed themselves in Blake’s lap. 

As much as she wanted to, Yang couldn’t really argue with Qrow. Sure, she tended to put on a damn good act as Ruby’s big sister, but no amount of violence, brashness, or bravado made you an adult. Try as she had in the years without a mother to take care of Ruby and protect her, she still secretly felt like she had no idea what she was even doing, so instead she had been careful to focus on hiding the toll it sometimes took on her from Ruby. 

As much as she welcomed the caring but gruff man’s presence, he was hardly any good at helping his family grow up. His visits had always been sporadic and accompanied by an ever increasing amount of drink, and stress that she had to deal with. When Ruby sprained a muscle fighting grimm in the woods near their home on his instruction, or when he ended up passed out on their couch with no warning, sometimes it made her wonder if she was at least more of an adult than him, but she knew that there was more going on with him than she was aware of. And no matter his vices, he was at least able to stay a skilled and trustworthy huntsman.

Looking deliberately away from Qrow, Yang took a moment to wrap her arms around Blake’s shoulders, clenching tightly to the far side of the baggy sweatshirt they wore to bed. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, deliberately letting some of the bad memories fade back into the past. 

After a few minutes of casual chatter Weiss returned, wearing what appeared to be her own clothes now. She had at some point obtained a pretty white and blue skirt similar to Ruby’s “combat skirt” and a matching blouse. 

It was a damn shame Ruby and Qrow were in the room, and Yang made a mental note to arrange a moment without them present at some point today. “Damn Weiss cream, you can get it.” She made the call me gesture with her hand before going back to being wrapped around Blake.

“I am sure that if whatever crass thoughts reside in your so-called mind came to pass I would get something indeed.” Weiss let out a huff and sat herself in Ruby’s lap.

“So, just to be clear, are you four all dating each other in a poloyamourous relationship now, with the exception of the pairing of Yang and Ruby?” They all nodded in response and Qrow sighed heavily. “Well, here we go again. This isn’t the first time a family member of mine has been simultaneously dating multiple members of their team.”

It took Yang a few seconds to piece together Qrow’s roundabout statement, and once she did she couldn’t help but recoil from him in shock. “You mean that mom, dad, and Raven were a triad?” 

Shamefully, Qrow nodded.

“What the hell man! How have you and dad never fucking told me this? How much longer are you and dad going to refuse to tell me about my own mother! How many more fucking things have to come out to me because of your slip of the tongue before I know everything? I am so incredibly tired of this shit Qrow.” Yang’s hands balled up into fists and she didn’t bother to unclench them. It was bad enough when they let her think that Summer was the one who had given birth to her until she was a teenager. It was bad enough that they refused to tell her why Raven had left or where she was now. That there were no pictures of her, that no one ever talked about her, except to refuse Yang’s inquiries, or when they slipped up under the influence of alcohol. “Explain, Qrow. Right now. Directly. Or else.” She didn’t care what she had to do or say, she was done waiting for answers.

“Look Yang, I can’t tell you everything because I don’t know everything. The three of them were in a relationship up until she left. The reason she left wasn’t that their relationship failed, it was because she decided to stop working with Ozpin, though I don’t know the reason behind that. All four of us were part of his inner circle back then, though I’m the only one of us still active now.” With another resigned sigh Qrow made to reach for his bottle again.

“Qrow.” One word was enough to stop his hand dead in its tracks. Yang had meant to sound demanding, authoritative, but instead it came out more like a plea. She hated the way Qrow’s irresponsibility had made her life harder growing up, taking away her time to be able to have her own life outside of the shady places she went trying to track down Raven. Hated the way he had put Ruby in danger when he was training her in combat and survival. Hated the way that he had kept secrets about Raven. Hated how he had grown increasingly dependent on the flask at his hip as the years had worn on. But she would never hate him, and seeing the way he just kept going at it as he talked about the past broke her heart a little each time.

“I need you to leave now Qrow, but after you’re gone there are two things I need you to do. One; don’t tell dad, we already plan on visiting him over the break, as a team, and we’ll be telling him then. Two; get help. Please. Please get help.”

There was a heady silence, in which Qrow hung his head shamefully. “I’ll try.” Without another word he got up and left, gently closing the door behind him.

A great releasing of held breaths occurred as Qrow left the room, leading to Weiss slowly sliding her hand into one of Yang’s, gently prying the fist open. “Yang, are you okay?” 

The absurdity of the question was enough to make Yang laugh loudly at the heiress. She shouldn’t, it was probably Weiss’ best effort, but now that the object of her anger had left she felt strangely hysterical. “Hell no. I’m going to go fight someone or something.” 

At that Ruby frowned at her in concern. “Yang, is that really the best thing for you to do right now?” 

She had always wondered just how much her sister was aware of her difficulties in relation to her birth mother. It was doubtful that Ruby hadn’t heard the screaming matches that had sometimes occurred with their dad, they were the only way she had ever obtained any new information. 

“Probably not.” Yang shrugged. “But it’s what I know how to do.” Sighing, she got out of bed and wandered over to the team JNPR dorm, which was in its usual state of organized chaos. Fortunately, Nora was present at the moment. “Hey Nora! Come spar with me?”

“Hell yeah, we’ve been way too lazy lately, c’mon Ren you can referee!” With her partner slung enthusiastically over her shoulder, Nora hurriedly followed Yang to a training room. It was a relief that she was up for it, Yang desperately felt the need to hit and get hit back and her brawls with Nora were always exactly that, a round of give and take. 

The moment Ren started the match Yang let go of the self-control she had held onto for her friends, screaming in rage as she charged straight at Nora. With little time to react Nora blocked her frenzied charge with the shaft of her hammer, locking the two of them together as they both attempted to overpower the other with sheer force. For a moment they stayed in that position, locked together as their grunts of effort filled the room.

However Yang took the advantage when she fired a shot from Ember Celica at their point blank range. Even though it only grazed Nora’s side due to the angle at which her hands had been positioned the force of the shot and the impact of the ice dust infused round loosened her footing enough that Yang managed to follow through with the momentum and flip her down onto the ground, immediately pouncing on top of her and following through with a few solid blows to her torso before she managed to roll to the side and kick her foot out from under her, creating a window of opportunity she used to stand up and take a swing that managed to hit Yang on the side before she could return to standing upright.

It was enough of a hit to send Yang flying into the wall, which was exactly the sort of thing she really needed as she felt her semblance start to really power up, mixing dangerously with her emotional turmoil. With another scream of rage she launched herself forward with a shot from Ember Celica, then at the last moment before entering the range of Magnhild altered her path with a shot aimed upward and to the side and slid behind Nora into a crouch, catching her with a fierce uppercut as the redhead turned to face her. 

In the moment of disorientation that followed Yang followed up with a gut punch that bent her target over enough for her to secure a headlock and flipped over the redhead’s back, creating the momentum to then slam her into the ground with extreme prejudice. However she didn’t stay on the ground for long, almost immediately smashing a small bead no doubt filled with lightning dust against her forehead as she landed, which provided her with the power to immediately launch herself back up and clock Yang in the gut with Maghnild at full force. Rather than fly away however, Yang grabbed a hold of Magnhild, growling ferally with effort as she continued to utilize her semblance to first swing it to the side, and then duck under Nora’s reach and deliver a series of heavy blows to her torso. 

The last of her punches knocked Nora back into the same wall Yang had flown into previously, and a buzzer sounded, signaling that Nora’s aura was running low and Yang had won the match. With a sigh she retracted Ember Celica and walked over to Nora’s spot leaning against the wall, offering her a hand up. 

Nodding, Nora took her hand and stood up. “Damn Yang, that was awesome! I’ve never seen you fight like that!” 

With her anger worked off Yang was starting to feel more sheepish than proud. “Yeah, ever since the tournament I’ve been thinking that I should probably put more effort into doing smart things in a fight, instead of just punching until my semblance activates, and then punching harder.” The realization that Mercury had probably let her win their fight at the tournament as part of a plan had been a serious blow to her ego. Enough that she felt the need to end some of her more stubborn ways. Some of the things that she pulled in that fight had actually been inspired by that insane murderous pink and brown girl from the train, though she would never admit it.

Coming over to pat Nora on the back, even Ren seemed impressed. “That was pretty good Yang.” 

“I honestly shouldn’t have done this though, I only wanted to fight someone because I was pissed at Qrow.” Yang sighed and let herself slump against the wall, feeling tired now that she’d burned through her anger.

“Well duh, why else do you think I stopped making out with Ren to get beat up, you dummy. It’s so obvious you just needed to punch something. Now come on, let’s get some pancakes in you.” Nora beamed at Yang and pulled her back up to her feet as Ren rushed off to make pancakes.

“Yeah, I’d appreciate that, thanks Nora.”

**Qrow: there’s one more thing firecracker, if you promise me that you won’t run away from Beacon to go find her, I’m willing to tell you where Raven is. You’re right that we’ve been hiding her from you for far too long.  
Yang: I promise Qrow, as much as I do want to find her, being a huntress comes first, and so does Ruby  
Qrow: good, she’s a bandit. Operates somewhere near Mistral, leads the Branwen clan, they’re pretty famous so if you’re ever in the area I’m sure it won’t be too hard to find them if you ask around  
Yang: thanks uncle Qrow**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that was the first time I've ever tried to write a fight, please tell me what you think of it


	13. Golden Mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby is left to deal with the aftermath of Yang's conflict

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Ace/Aro visibility day! At first I was going to finish this tomorrow but the opportunity was too good to pass up.
> 
> CW:brief mentions of emotional abuse

_“When you're weary, feeling small,  
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;  
I'm on your side, when times get rough  
And friends just can't be found,  
Like a bridge over troubled water  
I will lay me down.  
Like a bridge over troubled water  
I will lay me down.  
When you're down and out,  
When you're on the street,  
When evening falls so hard  
I will comfort you.  
I'll take your part when darkness comes,  
And pain is all around,  
Like a bridge over troubled water  
I will lay me down.”_  
-Simon and Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake sat in silence for a few moments after Yang stormed out. Ruby knew that her sister would be okay in a little bit, that she would cool down quickly enough from her experience with past outbursts about Raven. Still, it always scared her a little, not a fear of Yang, but a fear for Yang, that she would keep on beating herself up about the things she sometimes said to their dad and Qrow in these moments. 

The first person to break the silence was Weiss. “I want to follow after her and be there for her but... it doesn’t really feel like I can.”

“Don’t worry Weiss, she’ll be okay. She always cools down after a little workout when she’s like this.” Ruby used her best team leader voice as she squeezed Weiss reassuringly.

In response Blake squeezed Ruby, looking for comfort. “I’d appreciate it if you both stayed here for a little while, I don’t exactly handle shouting very well, even when it isn’t directed at me. Too many bad memories.” 

Weiss nodded. “Father only ever shouts at me in private, but it always hurts so much, no matter how much I tell myself that his opinion didn’t matter, how much I try to shut him and everyone else out.”

Hearing the simple statements of her teammates was enough to make Ruby want to cry, but she knew she couldn’t, she needed to be the one who stayed calm in times like this, the one who kept everything together. “I’m so sorry that you’ve had to go through those things, please remember that you’re both safe here, no matter what. Would it be okay if I got up and left you two to hold each other? I’ll just be over at the stove for a few minutes. There’s a special treat that I usually make for Yang at times like this. I think we could all use some.” 

With a groan Weiss forced herself to get out of Ruby’s lap, then quickly slipped into Blake’s embrace once Ruby had vacated it. There was just a little pang of longing to stay with her partners, but she needed to help Yang too, and she didn’t know what else she could really do. She had no experiences with abuse, so they were probably best able to be there for each other. 

Getting to work, Ruby pulled out the milk and poured enough for four people into a pot. Then she set it on the stove with the burner on a fairly low setting. Next she got her special supply of turmeric and the cinnamon out. Carefully, she mixed both ingredients into the milk as it heated with just a modest amount of sugar. 

Now all she had to do was wait until the mixture heated to a simmer, so she leaned against the counter and watched her partners as they clung together in bed. Just watching them comfort each other in hushed voices made her feel so incredibly warm inside. 

As the milk heated properly the unique scent of turmeric filled the room, leading Weiss to turn to Ruby and comment. “What are you doing with turmeric?”

“Nu-uh, you’ll have to wait until it’s done. It’s really impressive that you could recognise it from the smell though, you must know everything Weiss.” Ruby playfully wagged her finger at her girlfriend.

“I don’t know everything, I only know what I know.” As Weiss responded Ruby heard the first bubbles rising to the surface, indicating that her creation was ready.

“Is that so?” Excitedly, Ruby poured the golden milk into four mugs in equal amounts and delivered two of them to her partners. “Here, drink it slowly though, it’s hot and it’ll give you a tummy ache if you have too much too fast.”

Gently, Weiss sipped at hers and put it down with a content smile. “Oh, this is very nice. It’s fascinating that it gets this rich with only a few spices. Thank you Ruby.”

Blake flicked their ears appreciatively as they put their mug to the side after a sip. “It’s very soothing.”

“Soooo...” Ruby shuffled about, still a bit worried for her partners. “Are you feeling a little better?”

The wide smile that broke out on Weiss’ face was clearly genuine, yet at the same time she seemed to be on the verge of tears. “Oh Ruby, it hurts you too when we're hurting doesn’t it?”

Nod.

“Oh gods Ruby, I love you so much, come here.” Ruby let herself fold into Weiss’ outstretched arms, nuzzling up to her carefully. “I’m afraid that there’s a lot more pain to come from the both of us, but when it does happen please try to remember that it’s a good thing we’re able to talk about these subjects now. It’s because you’re here and leading us that I feel safe and loved enough to be able to express myself for the first time in a long time, and that is a very important part of healing.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just, sometimes my imagination is overactive and I think about those things that happened way too much. I love you too Weiss, and that’s why I’m a little bit scared that if I ever meet your father I might hurt him.” Everyone had to be good somehow, they had too. Otherwise what would make them different from grimm? Ruby would never have actually hurt Cardin the way she had threatened before, it was just what she felt she needed to say to shut him up for as long as possible. But the thought that there were people out there who were infinitely worse, who had seriously and permanently hurt the people she loved, it left her itching for vigilante justice in a way she had never encountered.

“I’m afraid that you’re going to have to get in line, he has no combat ability and there have been plenty of times that I’ve fantasised about reenacting that one moment from the battle between Polnarreff and Vanilla Ice with him and Myrtenaster.” Weiss joked before giving Ruby a kiss on the forehead.

“I don’t have the same eloquence, nor do I have any clue what you are referencing, but I basically agree with Weiss, though I’m pretty sure that killing Adam would have no consequences. It will probably also be necessary for self-defence.” Blake was serious.

They were right of course. From what Blake had told her, Adam Tarus was by all accounts a man who no longer held mercy or empathy of any kind for the race that had mistreated him. But Ruby hadn’t considered that it might have to be her team that dealt with him, and that in doing so they would have to kill him. She wanted to be a huntress to protect everyone, but of course there were people out there that were more dangerous than any single grimm. People like Cinder and her allies. Did that mean that they had to die? Probably, they seemed like people determined to fight to the death for their ideals, just as she was. It still seemed like the opposite of what a huntress should be, the huntress she wanted to be.

“I don’t like that you’re right. I don’t like it at all.” Ruby took a sip of her own milk before going back to the comfort of Weiss’ embrace, soothing warmth diffusing through her body from within and without her. 

Blake gently came in to hug Ruby, sandwiching her between them and Weiss. “It’s probably one of the worst things about the world, that sometimes in order to keep the people you love safe you have to hurt others who are probably loved as well, but still, it’s their own responsibility not to do harm in the first place.”

At that moment Ruby’s scroll buzzed, and she motioned for Blake to get off of her, as it was probably from Yang. The message was an invitation to join Yang for pancakes from Ren and Nora. After responding in the affirmative, she gave Weiss a brief goodbye kiss, and then Blake as well for good measure. “Alright, I’m going to go talk to Yang now. I’ll ask her to try not to yell when you’re around.”

Reluctantly, Ruby extracted herself from the embrace and grabbed Yang’s milk as well as her own before making her way across the hall. In the JNPR dorm, Yang, Ren, and Nora sat around a table with their respective mountains of pancakes. 

“Hey Yang.” All three occupants turned to her in greeting as Ruby entered the room, things seemed to be pretty relaxed at least. Nora was laughing and talking with her mouthful as usual, spraying pieces of pancake about the table, which Ren simply wiped up with a napkin and a gentle scolding, though he couldn’t hide his smile. Yang was primarily focused on her breakfast, simply enjoying each bite of syrupy goodness. 

“Hey Ruby, thanks.” Yang accepted Ruby’s gift of golden milk with a smile and hummed contentedly as she took a sip, then ruffled her hair affectionately. “All this attention it gets me is almost enough to make this trouble worth it.” 

“You’re in a good mood then? Have you already made up with uncle Qrow?” Ruby took a seat across the table from her and stared Yang in the eye, full sister mode.

“In a way, after I sparred with Nora, a match I won by the way, he told me where I can find Raven someday. Which should mean that there’s nothing else for me to find out by accident. I might just be hoping foolishly the way I have before, but it really does seem like this is the last time I’m going to have to get angry at Qrow and dad.”

“Good, I’m glad that you finally know where she is.” Then she took a deep breath and steeled herself, preparing to be their leader again. “There is one other thing though. Ren, Nora, this is something you should consider too. We’re dating two people who have experienced abuse. When you blew up and stormed out, you left Blake and Weiss a bit shell shocked. I took care of them, made them milk too, but you are going to go apologise when you’re ready. I don’t expect you to be able to just stop getting angry and shouting, but keep in mind that it’s often going to hurt them, and to be considerate of that.”

“Oh fuck, I hadn’t considered them.” Yang held her head in her hands. “I’ve actually scheduled therapy, starting tomorrow, every week, so, yeah. Hopefully I won’t do something like this again. I'm going to go apologise right now, protect my pancakes from Nora?” After seeing Ruby’s encouraging nod, Yang got up and walked out into the hallway.

Once Yang was out Nora huffed pointedly at the door. “As if I would steal them from anyone other than Ren unless we ran out. Which we haven’t, yet.” 

As Ren shook his head in exasperation, Ruby slid Yang’s plate of heavily syruped pancakes over to herself and started eating them, occasionally having a sip of golden milk as well. She felt like giving Yang a bit of grief, plus pancakes and golden milk were an incredible combination. Besides, Yang could always get some more.

In between bites of sugary goodness, Ruby started to converse with Ren and Nora. “So where are Jaune and Pyrrha?”

“They went to train. Jaune is still working diligently to catch up to everyone else in combat skills.” Ren volunteered information between bites of breakfast.

“Not having any classes is starting to get super boring though, I’m so bored I might actually go to some of them today. Not really all that bummed out by anything anymore anyway. In fact, making out with Ren, plus sticking a fork in an electrical socket for a little while each day has really helped to recharge my batteries, and I bet you feel the same way since you’ve got two people to make out with dontcha Ruby?”

It was safe for Ruby to assume that she was blushing significantly, but once the words started coming out they wouldn’t stop, pouring like a waterfall from her mouth as she started rambling. “It’s not like make out make out, I mean sure we kiss each other a bunch, but there’s never any tongue! At least not when I’m in the room, it’d be gross if I saw Yang doing something like that, although Weiss and Blake making out sounds like it would be fun to watch-but I haven’t! Because they went on a date last night they might have, and they probably did a bunch of other romantic things too. Why is Saturday so far away? I want to do romantic things with them, ahhh it’s so hard to choose whether I’m going to kiss and cuddle Blake or Weiss at any given moment I wish I had two mouths because I love them so much and I never want to stop being with them or let them get hurt and ahhhhhhhh!” 

The concluding paragraph of Ruby’s rant was a happy squeal that didn’t end until her lungs ran out of air.

“So having someone you love to comfort you is very nice, yes.” Face flushed, she went back to eating more pancakes as Ren and Nora stared.

“That is such a mood!” Nora enthusiastically stood up and bear hugged Ren for no apparent reason.

“Yo.” Yang burst back into the door and sighed in exaggerated mourning as her gaze came to rest on what was once her plate of pancakes. “I suppose I deserve to have my pancakes stolen today, but by my dear sweet sister? Such betrayal.” 

Behind Yang, Weiss cautiously popped into the dorm room as well. “I don’t wish to impose, but would you mind if Blake and I joined you for pancakes?” Behind her lurked Blake, who seemed content to fade into the background of a busy family breakfast for a while. 

“Hell yeah! Family breakfast, hopefully Jaune and Pyrrha will be back soon too, I haven’t even gotten started on eating my fill!” Nora let go of Ren to fist pump as he shrugged and got to work preparing more pancake batter.

The next hour or so was spent doing many things that were not eating food, including canoodling, flirting, laughing, and confiding in friends. Shortly after the meal began in earnest, Jaune and Pyrrha did return, bringing with them a round of applause and a large number of bruises, all of which were on Jaune, of course.

Ruby was incredibly relieved to have such an opportunity to relieve the stress of the early morning, and found herself readily joining in on even the worst of Jaune’s repeat after me songs, with the insistence that Weiss do the same as a matter of team building. Despite her grumpiness, she did give in to the power of Ruby’s wide-eyed stare, though she refused to actually sing, lest she insult music itself. 

All in all, it was a morning that worked itself out well enough, and that left her feeling closer than ever to her loved ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing the first half or so of this one was a bit tricky, I'm definitely faster at writing fluff, but it's good that I'm getting in small amounts of practice with this now


	14. Interlude: Thirst

“Are we truly here, dear Cinder, sometimes I wonder.” Salem stared vacantly into her wine as Cinder took a knee before her. 

An awkward pause followed before Cinder realized that the question was not rhetorical. “I’m not sure that I understand what you mean.” While honesty was almost always the best tactic in Salem’s presence, the obsidian woman’s volatile nature always left her fearing the consequences of her answers.

Salem responded with an eternally suffering sigh. “No, I suppose that you would not. That is why I must teach you, not only of magic, but the nature of this world. My thirst runs deep child. I cannot rest until the realms of man are no more, and yet sometimes I wonder whether that is truly my desire, or someone else’s.” Her grip slowly began to tighten around the wine glass, until it shattered, embedding shards of glass in her hands which were casually shaken free.

That made no sense, Cinder was confident in her own hatred, her own thirst for revenge, and in the reasons behind it. The idea that her own feelings might belong to someone else was disturbing, but also made no sense.

“Does it really matter? Either way we’re here to take revenge on as many people as possible.” Cinder shrugged. She couldn’t really be bothered to consider ruminations on the nature of the universe, not unless the answers gave her more power with which to enact her desire.

“Perhaps, perhaps not. But understand this, in the coming months I will make you into a force to be reckoned with. You will be taught to shape and to feel magic properly, and if you wish to use it well you must grow beyond that limited focus of yours. The potential that magical power has is limited only by your creativity.”

“You see, there are many ways to kill a man with magic, incinerate him, drown him, electrocute him. But what I am sure you have failed to realise is that any foe who’s aura has been depleted can be killed with the simple application of a miniscule force to the correct vein or nerve. After all, the human body is a very fragile thing.” Salem stood before Cinder and placed a hand gently on her cheek, caressing and indicating for her to stand. 

“Rise, you are to be my student, my prodigy. You need not fear me as long as your heart retains its hatred. Some of the others among us remain loyal to fear, greed, or sadism, but you will be my equal in this house and you will be the hands with which I tear apart this broken world.” Salem seemed almost motherly, her features softening as Cinder stood before her in a way she had never seen before.

Cinder stared for a moment, completely taken aback by Salem’s behavior. “Thank you, I look forward to the power I will discover.” Externally, she remained cool, doing her best to be humbled and grateful. Internally however, she was incredibly confused. Why was Salem saying this? She supposed that it would be damn hard to keep the likes of Tyrian in line without being an emotionally distant wrathful hardass, but it was hard to imagine Salem as anything else at this point.

The hand on Cinder’s cheek turned her head gently, and it felt like Salem was reading her very soul. “I’m sure you do, but first come, let us take some time alone, I’m sure you need rest after making the long journey here so quickly.”

Was it an act? No, more likely she had simply decided that Cinder was someone to treat more gently. Strange though, it almost seemed as if she had said that because she cared about her.

But that was impossible. Right?


	15. Yangbow in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bumping the rating up to E with this chapter, not because there is or will be smut, but Weiss, Yang, and Blake are too thirsty to be contained by an M
> 
> The smut will all be in a separate story that I've been working on for a while, though it's so lewd and gay it's hard to write(this coming from the woman who wrote 4000 words of smut in a single day before)
> 
> There's been too little opportunity for whiterose lately so I had to squeeze some in at the end here
> 
> Comments give me life and attention is the fuel that gets this starship up to ludicrous speed
> 
> I feel like I'm probably not doing Coco justice because I haven't read After the Fall yet, I'm in the process of fixing that though so look forward to members of team CVFY actually being in the story eventually because they are awesome

_When there's lightning, you know it always brings me down  
'Cause it's free and I see that it's me  
Who's lost and never found  
I cry out for magic, I feel it dancing in the light  
It was cold, I lost my hold  
To the shadows of the night_

_No sign of the morning coming  
You've been left on your own  
Like a rainbow in the dark  
A rainbow in the dark_

_Do your demons, do they ever let you go?  
When you've tried, do they hide, deep inside  
Is it someone that you know  
You're just a picture, you're an image caught in time  
We're a lie, you and I  
We're words without a rhyme_

_There's no sign of the morning coming  
You've been left on your own  
Like a rainbow in the dark  
Just a rainbow in the dark, yeah_  
-Dio, Rainbow in the Dark

Breakfast with team JNPR was chaotic, yet entertaining, but nevertheless Weiss found herself growing restless once it drew to a close. Even though she expected to need to increase her caloric intake both as a result of the regular physical regimen of training and the fact that she was soon going to go through puberty a second time, she was restrained in what she ate, an old habit from the days of Jacques telling her to eat plentifully and her silently rebellious response to him. 

Six of the other people in the room collectively groaned, those with beds in the room occupying them as Yang unabashedly lay on the table and Ruby and Blake slouched in chairs. Ren and herself simply watched their gluttonous friends in amusement. Even Nora was stuffed like a turkey, though it had taken all of the ingredients in both teams’ larders to do so.

“They’re like fish.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow at Ren’s comment. “How so?”

“Foolish, endearing, and they will eat any food that you present them with.” He chuckled.

A weak voice drifted out from under Jaune’s bedsheets. “Just because we can’t move doesn’t mean that we can’t hear you.”

Ignoring Jaune as usual, Weiss spent a moment staring at Ruby, who was slouched in a chair with her eyes closed and a blissful expression on her face. “I cannot speak for your fools, but I suppose that mine may be somewhat endearing.”

Though she enjoyed observing Ruby’s adorably content face, the tired atmosphere of the room clashed with her need to act productively. The last few days had been a lovely haze of new experiences and fun with friends, but she felt the need for academic growth, noted the absence of studious work that she genuinely enjoyed. Even if she had taught them some things in the past two days, she hadn’t had the time or inclination to remain ahead of the material that would be covered in this week, or even done any homework.

“We need to start going to classes again.” 

A chorus of groans was her only response. Unacceptable, as far as she could tell, everyone was doing reasonably well now and it was time to put her foot down. 

“Not right now obviously, tomorrow. I simply cannot allow us to continue to lethargically pass these days away. Tomorrow, unless you can look me in the eye and tell me that you are mentally or emotionally unprepared to return to an ordinary class schedule after this little vacation, I will bring you to your classes individually and by force if necessary.” It may have been slightly excessive, but she was reasonably sure that Yang hadn’t even worked out in the last three days, meaning that everyone’s healthy routines were being seriously affected.

More groaning, though it sounded less grouchy and more resigned than last time. Good enough. All that remained was to wait until her team could return to being functioning adults, or at least as close to functioning adults as they were able to be. Which may not necessarily be very close at all. 

With nothing better to do, she checked her messages.

**hotCoco: how’s the new boat sailing Ice Queen?  
Weissicle: what new boat?  
hotCoco: y’know the pollination train  
Weissicle: you are utterly incomprehensible  
hotCoco: you and Ruby and Blake and Yang, still in the honeymoon period?  
Weissicle: yes, but what on earth is the pollination train  
hotCoco: you+Ruby=white rose, Blake+Yang=Bumbleby, bee+flower=pollination  
Weissicle: that is actually some pretty solid but also disturbingly clever naming of pairings. How long did it take you to come up with that?  
hotCoco: couple weeks  
Weissicle: how long have you even been expecting us to end up dating each other?!  
hotCoco: about since I heard Ren’s odds on you being trans, in other words eight weeks into the start of the year  
Weissicle: don’t tell me you made a bet with him too?  
hotCoco: nope, I just like to read the atmosphere and collect gossip by knowing about the various things up for being bet on  
Weissicle: Why am I the last person to realize these things  
hotCoco: oh no, I assure you that everyone else on your team is completely oblivious, the only reason Blake even knew that they liked Yang was because she’s hot as fuck  
Weissicle: you are right, she is very hot  
Weissicle: holy shit my girlfriend is so hot  
Weissicle: and my other girlfriend is amazing and wonderful and so incredibly cute  
Weissicle: and my partner is really fucking hot too, but in a totally different way you know?  
Weissicle: Yang is hot in a “wow this person could snap me in two and I’d die happy” sort of way  
hotCoco: damn right, in the immortal words of Spike Spiegel “I love a woman that can kick my ass”  
Weissicle: and then Blake is hot in a “I want this person to invite me to take shelter from a storm in their mysterious candlelit gothic mansion and then I experience a series of strange events over the course of which I realise that they’re secretly a vampire and become their wife” kind of way  
hotCoco: that is an interestingly specific description, though I find it difficult to disagree  
Weissicle: is it okay that I just info dumped about how much I like them?  
hotCoco: why wouldn’t it be?  
Weissicle: I don’t have very much experience with having actual friends in my own age group, and I don’t know what things are okay to talk about  
hotCoco: 1) I am absolutely delighted to listen to yearnings, ramblings, and pinings of all kinds, because I am hella attracted to every gender  
hotCoco: 2) I invited you to kink education on the first day that I meaningfully spoke with you, I am a friend who is open to talk about literally fucking anything as long as it isn’t boring, and if it is I will change the subject without you ever noticing I was displeased  
hotCoco: 3) so please tell me these things because I adore hearing them and will fix the situation if I ever don’t  
hotCoco: end list  
hotCoco: are team JNPR not actual friends?  
Weissicle: they are, but I don’t really feel like I can talk about attraction with any of them because as far as I know they‘re all cishet  
hotCoco: you may be surprised, on more than one count  
Weissicle: and what is that supposed to mean?  
hotCoco: oh, I have more hunches is all. It also means that they’re good people and you shouldn’t doubt them like that  
Weissicle: you’re right   
Weissicle: furthermore, it is a lot of fun to gush about how much I love all of them and I should do so more often  
hotCoco: I know exactly what you mean, Velvet, Fox, and Yatsu are absolute treasures and I will never not enjoy screaming out about how much I love them  
Weissicle: yep, last night when we were out Blake and I actually talked about Yang and Ruby a bit and that was a lot of fun  
hotCoco: oh, you went out on a date?  
Weissicle: it was actually the first date I’ve ever been on that wasn’t arranged for me by someone else  
hotCoco: congratulations  
hotCoco: have the four of you established some kind of dating schedule?  
Weissicle: we have, pairs on Tuesdays, the whole group on Saturday  
Weissicle: although I don’t think any of us actually have any idea what we’re going to do this Saturday  
hotCoco: I have some experience if you would like suggestions  
Weissicle: please  
hotCoco: bowling?  
Weissicle: that is a terrible idea  
hotCoco: the great Weiss Schnee is too good for bowling?  
Weissicle: it would be far too public, even in Vale where his influence is limited if word of my personal activities were to end up before my father there would be serious problems  
hotCoco: right, I’m sorry Weiss, I have the luxury of not giving a shit about people like him anymore  
hotCoco: I do know a place in town that offers privacy and excellent food, if you can convince everyone to let you pay  
Weissicle: why would I need to convince them?**

“No way, I can’t let you pay for our date, we gotta split it.” Yang shook her head to emphasize how stubborn she was going to insist on being.

By the time that Weiss had finished chatting with Coco, most everyone had recovered from their food comas, and she migrated back to her own room with Ruby, Blake, and Yang after agreeing to attend a board game night that evening.

Another groan of frustration slipped past Weiss’ lips as she rubbed her brow. “Well then, do you have an alternative suggestion for Saturday? I won’t allow you to pay, even if you are capable of doing so, it would be a significant dent in your finances, whereas for me it is infinitesimal.” 

“Look, just because I don’t know what that word means doesn’t mean that I can just accept your money!” Weiss could conceive of what Yang was thinking, she really could. It made sense that she wouldn’t want to take Weiss’ money, because she probably felt like that was taking advantage of her girlfriend’s position. But that didn’t really make things any easier when she stubbornly refused to go along with this plan.

“”Yang, please, let me take us all out to dinner on Saturday. I get that you don’t want to use my money in this relationship, but to be honest this isn’t something that I’m offering out of generosity. It’s entirely selfish of me. I want to do this because it’s the only way that we’re going to be able to go there for a date, and because this is the only way I know right now that I can go on a normal date without having to worry about being recognized as the Schnee heir.”

“Because my entire life I’ve been worrying about what the people around me think of my behavior, of what they might tell my father or the press if I allowed myself to have fun for one moment around other people. I know I can’t keep doing this and hiding from the world forever, but I’m terrified of what could happen if I did stop, and I need more time before I can face him.” Cautiously, Weiss lowered herself to kneel on the floor and looked up at Yang pleadingly. “So please Yang, please let me do this.”

There was a pregnant silence as she stared up at Yang, interrupted only by a loud gulp that originated from none other than the brawler herself. She spoke without breaking eye contact. “Hey Ruby, could you leave the room for a few minutes, I want to say something I don’t think you want to hear.”

The sound of their door being closed a few seconds later left Weiss very nervous about what Yang could be about to say. 

With Ruby gone, Yang crouched down in front of Weiss, put a single finger under her chin and tilted her head upward just a little bit, exposing her neck. “You look damn good on your knees, but I think I’d like you better in my bed.” Then the brawler leaned forward and kissed her, only waiting a few seconds before gently prodding at her lips and aggressively mashing their faces together when she acquiesced. 

Weiss made a sound that was an unladylike mixture of a muffled moan and a squeak as Yang started making out with her. It was certainly one hell of a way for Yang to tell her that she had been convinced.

It took a little while for Weiss to make herself end the kissing, mostly because she was running out of both air and blood at the same time. When she did they both stared at each other for a moment, panting as bright violet eyes stared into hers. “I told you that you were a snack in that skirt.” 

She was way too thirsty for this. “Gods Yang.” Weiss stood up and stretched herself a little. Kneeling was hard on her knees, and stretching helped clear her head a little.

“Was that too much?” Yang stood as well and looked at her with concern.

“Not at all, in fact I’d say that it wasn’t enough, I just got uncomfortable on the floor.” Even after shaking off the lingering feeling of their kiss, Weiss found herself thinking about what Yang had said about getting in her bed, and about maybe subsequently doing slightly more than kissing.

“You two do realize that you’re putting on something of a show for me at this point, yes? Not that I’m complaining.” Blake sat on the communal bed, watching them with a smile.

“It is possible that I like the sound of that.” Weiss sat down in Yang’s bed and looked up expectantly at her girlfriend. “So, I’m willing to bet that you know how to give hickies.”

Yang cocked an eyebrow at her. “Are you now? And why would you come to that conclusion?” She leaned over Weiss, placing a hand on the mattress until their noses were nearly touching and Weiss started to lean back, intimidated, but in a good way.

“Well, for one you have taken many opportunities to regale me with tales of the women you’ve ‘conquered’ in your days at Signal. And secondly I dearly hope that you do, so that you can give me some right now.” Weiss kept leaning farther back into Yang’s bed and tugged pointedly at her collar, letting the blond get on top of her, something that got her heart racing even more than it had been. 

“Are you sure about that?” She could tell that Yang was asking to make sure that she wasn’t making a decision she would regret later, and it only made her fall further in love with her. 

“Hells yes.” A sudden desire to hug her girlfriend came over Weiss, so she did, wrapping herself tightly around Yang and whispering in her ear. “Thank you for asking.”

Additional direct contact had the added benefit of squishing Yang’s chest up against her own, something neither of them seemed to mind very much at all, and that became a secondary point of focus for Weiss as Yang leaned down and kissed her, gently at first. Then soft kisses trailed down from the side of her mouth along her jaw, making her gasp.

The first kiss on her neck was enough to make her whimper. Not because it was rough, but because the knowledge that Yang was now at her neck, an incredibly vulnerable part of her body, was more than a little bit arousing. It was freeing to let someone do this because she wanted them to for once in her life. The whimper seemed to egg Yang on, her kisses growing faster and with greater suction.

At first Weiss wasn’t entirely sure whether the things Yang was doing with her neck were enough to leave marks or not. Then Yang made an actual hickey, gently catching the heiress’ skin between her teeth. It hurt, and Weiss loved it. Her arms squeezed her girlfriend tighter and she moaned out loud. “Yaaang. Fucking hells yes.”

“My my Weiss, you really are quite the masochist.” Blake butt in to tease her.

“That’s rich coming from-ahhhh, mmph, you. I know what kind of book _Ninjas of Love_ is.” The sheer audacity of Yang to interrupt her in the middle of a sentence with another hickey like that. It was a very good idea.

After each hickey Yang took a little time to gently kiss around the affected area, a wonderful and appreciated touch. Weiss did her best to reciprocate by running a hand through her soft hair.

“It is a book series that is far more vanilla than you.” Well, there was nothing for her to say in response to that, so instead she just focused on Yang, who was in the middle of administering a third hickey.

She took longer on this one than the others, really properly going at it and turning Weiss into a whimpering mess. After, as she left a ring of kisses around what was going to be a long-lasting mark, Weiss decided that they ought to stop before something embarrassing happened. “Okay Yang that’s enough, let’s just cuddle a bit?”

With a nod of acknowledgement Yang slid onto her side and wrapped her arms around Weiss, nuzzling right up against her ear. “Those noises you made were pretty damn cute princess.”

Strangely, that was the thing that was enough to make Weiss blush.

“Damn, does this mean I don’t get a turn?” Blake grinned, deliberately baring their teeth at Weiss and sending a new shiver down her spine.

“Later, I promise.” She should get all of her partners to give her hickeys. That way she would have marks from all of them on her neck. Thinking of which. “Actually, I think I’m going to go and give Ruby some love now, she seemed like she wanted affection earlier but the mood wasn’t right for it.”

“Guess that means I’m available to get some sweet Blakey loving then, nice.” Yang uncurled her arms from around Weiss.

The loss of Yang’s warmth was disappointing, but necessary. With a semi-reluctant sigh Weiss got up and waved as she headed over to the room across the hall, where Ruby would most likely be found. 

Found she was, fiddling absentmindedly with Miló and Akoúo̱, which she considered to be the most interesting weapons in team JNPR. Though as soon as she saw Weiss come in she carefully put them aside and dashed over to jump her.

For the first time in a while Weiss managed to keep her footing, mostly because Ruby hadn’t used her semblance. “Yay! Don’t tell me about whatever lewd thing Yang did to you.”

“How do you know that what Yang wanted to do was romantic in nature?” Weiss kissed Ruby a few times on the cheeks as she responded.

“I can tell when she’s trying to pretend that she hasn’t lost an argument, I’m her sister. She doesn’t like losing, so she probably just made out with you so that she wouldn’t have to say that she was giving up.” Then Ruby grabbed her face and planted a big kiss on Weiss’ lips. 

Their kiss didn’t stop until Nora threw a pillow at them. “Oi! Get a room.”

“We can’t, Yang and Blake are busy doing something Ruby doesn’t want to see. Speaking of which, hey Ruby, do you know how to give someone a hickey?”

Ruby blushed, it was incredible. “Um, no.”

“Would you like a demonstration?”

“...”

“Yes.” Ruby’s blush intensified tenfold.

Three more pillows assaulted them. “Get! A! Room!”

Ren rolled his eyes and threw his own pillow at Nora as she sat in her bunk below him. “Please, you’ve put poor Jaune and Pyrrha through much worse than that.”

Jaune, who was being spooned by Pyrrha in her upper bunk as they read a comic book, spoke up as well. “Yeah, go ahead and use my bed, I basically never use it anymore anyway. You have permission from me as the team leader. Just try not to make too much noise.”

“Thanks Jaune.” Ruby skipped excitedly over to the bed, pulling Weiss along with her.

“What exactly have I gotten myself into?” Weiss’ brief streak of shamelessness had ended when Blake started teasing her. Nevertheless she followed after Ruby, excited to be more affectionate with her sweetest girlfriend.


	16. Atmospheric Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: flashback to abuse/manipulation

_I've stood upon my mountaintop  
And shouted at the sky  
Walked above the pavement with my senses amplified  
I get this feeling_

_All my nerves are naked wires tender to the touch  
Sometimes super-sensitive  
But who can care too much?  
I get this feeling_

_Scars of pleasure  
Scars of pain  
Atmospheric changes  
Make them sensitive again_

_Scars of pleasure  
Scars of pain  
Atmospheric changes  
Make them sensitive again_

_Each emotional injury  
Leaves behind its mark  
Sometimes they come tumbling out  
Like shadows in the dark  
I get this feeling_

_When I think about all I have seen  
And all I'll never see  
When I think about the people  
Who have opened up to me  
I get this feeling_

_Scars of pleasure  
Scars of pain  
Atmospheric changes  
Make them sensitive again_

_Scars of pleasure  
Scars of pain  
Atmospheric changes  
Make them sensitive again_  
-Rush, Scars

It was the third day in a row that Blake spent a large portion of in domestic enjoyment of their girlfriends, their books momentarily disregarded in favor of the real thing. It was probably a good thing Weiss was making them get back to class, they could tell that they were getting to be too lazy. Sometimes it felt like they could have spent all day marking Yang’s neck and letting her mark them in return, though seeing Ruby return with both Weiss and some neck bruises of her own piqued their interest in sucking on the necks of all of their partners and vice versa all over again.

Something of a trend of the day was made out of it, though eventually they did run out of space on each other’s necks. When the time came Weiss somehow mustered her willpower and did her best to keep them all up to date with the classes they were missing, even though their previous activities had left her more of a puddle than anyone else.

Now however, she seemed to be flagging rapidly, checking her watch every few minutes as she rushed them all through the material. Eventually, Blake felt that they needed to speak up.

“Weiss, is there somewhere you need to be?” 

The studious heiress sighed standoffishly before rolling her eyes. “Yes, I have arranged a discrete doctor’s appointment in Vale, but if I cannot finish this material before I go we will not be able to cover it, as I’m sure Jaune and the others will keep us busy with game night all night following dinner.”

Beneath Blake, the bed everyone was watching the lecture from shook as Ruby jumped off of it and tackled Weiss. “You have to go to the doctor? Is everything okay, you aren’t hurt or something are you?”

There was a brief chuckle as Weiss ran her hands through Ruby’s hair reassuringly. “No Ruby, I’m fine. It’s just that there is something I realized that I’m going to lose the opportunity to do in a few months and so I’m taking care of it now, thanks to some things I talked about with Blake on our date.”

“What?” Blake stared at their girlfriend in confusion. They hadn’t discussed anything medical, mostly they had just joked around and talked about family... “Oh, I think I get it.”

Weiss winked at them. “Let’s keep it as a pleasant surprise for them a decade or so from now, or whenever we end this damn war between Salem and all of civilization.”

“That sounds like a really good idea. Not to say now that I’d participate if it is what I think it is, just that it’s a really good thing to prepare for the possibility of in the future. I definitely haven’t been thinking about it.” Blake couldn’t bring themself to look at anyone as they rubbed the love marks on their neck.

“Of course.” Another wink. That girl had no business being so perceptive. Well no, it was probably something she had been taught for the sake of doing business.

“Well if it’s a good thing that you need to get done then go, we can study on our own.” Ruby kissed Weiss on the cheek and crawled off of her, gesturing that she should leave.

Blake raised an eyebrow at Ruby. “Can we? That seems less likely than all of the grimm in the world up and surrendering these days, it’s way too easy to get distracted.”

“Right, I definitely can’t leave until we’re finished here then.” Weiss nodded, but she was plainly pained about missing her appointment.

Ruby tugged Weiss back onto her feet by force, throwing her wallet and keys at her with a smile. “Go, go, do the thing! Don’t let us make you late. We’ll be fine!” She pushed the heiress across the threshold and then waved happily at her before closing the door in her face. Whenever it came to taking care of other people who refused to take care of themself Ruby could always be expected to go all out.

A chortle from the peanut gallery known as Yang Xaio Long drew Blake’s attention. “I wish she would realize that she really doesn’t Schneed to take care of us like that.”

“As I recall you two were getting Cs and Ds in all your classes before she started tutoring you.” Blake lightly booped Yang’s nose as retaliation for the terrible pun.

“Yeah, but you don’t really get to be talking about us getting distracted. Just look at all those bruises I’ve given you.” Yang reached out to touch their neck.

 _Just look at all those bruises I’ve given you. This is all your fault, this is what happens when you fail to follow simple instructions. You gave me no other choice._ The hand that wrapped around their neck was covered in a black glove, attached to a man they knew, a man with red hair and black horns that jutted upward like spears, and a mask resembling the very grimm they had come here to fight.

Adam’s hand tightened around their throat and they bit. They bit him until he let go, feeling their teeth digging into flesh and the taste of blood as their vision faded in and out until miraculously they could breathe again and they ran retreating to the first place they could recognise. Their bunk bed appeared, surrounded by a blurred haze of confusion as they leaped into it, fast breaths pouring through their lungs even though they didn’t think they had had to go very far.

There Blake shook in fear, wrapping their blanket around themself. They knew he’d be back, so they waited, every muscle tensed as they took what little comfort they could from the darkness behind their eyelids and under the blanket. Minutes passed, familiar voices drifted over their head, distant as if through glass. At one point they felt a hand gently poke their shoulder and they screeched, but it withdrew immediately and didn’t come back.

At some point they felt lightheaded and realized that they were probably hyperventilating, but couldn’t really care, it all felt detached anyway, it was just someone else’s lightheadedness, someone else’s terror. They had no idea how long they stayed like that, but at some point they felt like they had a body again, and risked a peek outside of their blanket, wondering if he had actually left, or was just waiting for them to look with the expectation that he had left.

Outside there were two people looking up at them with worry. They hurriedly checked the rest of the room and became slightly less tense upon seeing that they were alone. Something tickled at their mind though, and they closed their eyes as they took a deep breath, in through their nose and out through the mouth, trying to slow their racing thoughts. Opening their eyes again they recognized them this time. It was Yang and Ruby.

Oh no, they’d actually bitten Yang, hadn’t they? There was gauze wrapped tightly around the brawler’s hand. “Yang? Ruby?” Their voice was a rough rasp.

“Hey Blake.” Yang nodded tensely.

“What happened?” When was the last time they’d drunk water?

“You bit Yang and then went to your bed and hid under the blankets and it sounded like you were hyperventilating so we called in the school nurse, and he tried to help you but when he did you screamed really loud and he said that we should probably leave you alone and we just needed to hope you lost consciousness before you got hurt by it because otherwise you’d probably just get worse from being touched and-”

“Ruby, please.” Blake put their hands over their ears. “My head.” They then made a sipping motion.

Silently, Ruby nodded, then she grabbed a water bottle and slowly placed it at the foot of their bed.

The cool water grounded them a little more, they could tell that nobody had actually tried to choke them. For a few moments after they just stared vacantly at the bottle, trying to piece together what was real. Their right hand still shook uncontrollably.

“I’m so sorry Blake.” Yang’s voice was barely a whisper as she hung her head.

“No, I’m sorry I bit you, it’s not your fault, just bad luck. What you said was also something he said once, in a different context.” Blake sat against the wall and looked down at the sisters, taking some small comfort in their presence. “I’m going to just read for a little while, to distract myself. Don’t get too close to me, but don’t leave my line of sight either, okay?” 

A pang of guilt twinged within them as their girlfriends nodded. They were a ticking time bomb of trauma. Nothing like this had happened since before they started at beacon. There had been a few nightmares and panic attacks in the few weeks before anyone had known they were a faunus, especially when Weiss had said some of the things she did about the White Fang and faunus in general. But they had been easy enough to hide when their team mostly left them alone.

Now that they were close to people again it also meant that they were more vulnerable. Any casual flirt could potentially incite another flashback. That was the scariest thing, more so than the residual instinctual fear that still lingered in the back of their mind. That, and that their girlfriends might not want them anymore.

Blake peeked their head over the edge of their bed and looked down at Yang and Ruby playing fighting games on their scrolls. “Hey, so, um, I know this is unlikely but are going to break up with me now? Because this is the first time it’s gotten bad like this with anyone around and it’s probably going to happen again and if we’re in the field it could be dangerous so I’d understand if you needed to break up with me or need me to leave the team.” 

Ruby stood up on the bed dramatically. “No way Blake. We love you, we know that you’re strong, really strong, and as long as you want us here we’re going to keep you safe and never stop loving you. I won’t abandon you.”

“Thanks Ruby, that was a silly thing for me to say.” That part of things was just their brain being self-loathing at least. It was enough of a relief that they laughed a little before grabbing a random book and settling into the nook their bed made with the corner of the room.

The book was about a lightly smutty romance between a super-intelligent villainess and the superpowered yet comedically nieve alien heroine who kept beating her. It was a great read by their usual standards, mostly because it was practically impossible to find good queer romance written by queer people in printed books. There were plenty of self-published authors but they only ever had digital copies, which just weren’t the same as physical books. They needed to experience that new book smell and the feel of paper, otherwise it just wouldn’t be proper reading.

They spent a few hours or so engrossed in the book, with their only distractions being the occasional flush of warmth that prompted them to think about Weiss and Yang once they reached some of the more risque content. At some point between the brief glances they took to eye Yang’s figure, Weiss got back from her business and waved politely when they took a look.

With the passage of further time they found themself missing physical contact to a greater degree than they were scared of it, so they put away the book and turned to their girlfriends. “Hey Ruby, want to come up here and cuddle for a bit?”

“Heck yeah.” Ruby positively beamed as she climbed up to Blake’s bed and curled up in their arms. 

This was what they needed. No words, just a bundle of joy wrapped up tightly in their arms and a soft, loving atmosphere. Ruby’s beautiful silver eyes met with theirs and they leaned in, kissing her slowly, gently, drawing things out as much as possible. When they serrated Blake made a point of guiding Ruby’s head down a little to simply snuggle into the crook of their neck and squeeze her tight. She just seemed to radiate emotional warmth, and it was nice to just hold her, to feel like they were taking care of someone a little bit.

Inevitably, they realized that they were starving and hadn’t eaten since breakfast because the feast of pancakes had left almost everyone too full to eat lunch. With a sigh they got up out of bed and gathered themself together. They felt okay enough. “Okay, food.”

As it turned out, Yang, Ruby, and later Weiss had been preparing a quiche while they recovered, and had already put it in the refrigerator and let it cool before they got hungry. Resulting in a very well stuffed quiche full of cheese, bacon, potato, ham, and tomatoes that was quickly reheated, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, and devoured in its entirety.

After everyone was done eating Yang clapped her hands once, loudly, disrupting the calm, quiet atmosphere that had surrounded them. “Alright, are we good to shoot the shit and hang out with the others?”

Blake stood up and stretched. “Absolutely, doing things is a great idea, though I am definitely not going to let them keep me up past midnight because I still intend to go to class tomorrow.”

Ruby tilted her head as she looked at them with worry. “Are you sure? And is there anything we can do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?”

“I am sure, and there really isn’t. It’s just bad luck that you said something that reminded me of him. Trying to think of things for everyone to avoid saying would only mean thinking about more things I don’t want to remember.” Blake shrugged. “The only thing I can think of is try to avoid being too possessive of me or touching me in the wrong place at the wrong time. Cuddling is good, but I guess ask for permission to touch my neck and stuff like that. Don’t you dare start walking on eggshells around me though.”

Their girlfriends nodded in understanding and Weiss took their hand. “We wouldn’t dream of it. You’re damn strong to have gotten this far and I’m sure you can handle things from here as long as you’re willing to trust us to help you.”

Blake nodded. “Damn right, we’re going to run into Adam one day, and when we do we’re going to take care of him once and for all. And once we do I think I'll be able to rest a lot easier.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hah, you thought that Blake was allowed to have a nice day. Nope. 
> 
> Ever since Friday I've been picturing their haircut as being similar to Catra's from the new season of She-Ra, so that's basically what it is now, not that I'm any good at describing haircuts
> 
> good news and bad news
> 
> the bad news is that I got a full time job so I'm going to be writing this a bit more slowly
> 
> good news is that I brainstormed some more wild-ass plot that isn't happening for a good two plot focused arcs when we haven't even gotten to the beginning of the first one yet, also that the smut is coming along at a slow but steady pace and is probably the best thing I've ever written
> 
> also if anyone is part of a cool RWBY discord that isn't too big but also isn't dead I'd like to get in on that because I don't really know anyone I can talk about RWBY with


	17. Truth

_Time and motion  
Wind and sun and rain  
Days connect like boxcars in a train_

_Fill them up with precious cargo  
Squeeze in all that you can find  
Spontaneous elation  
And the long-enduring kind_

_Time and motion  
Flesh and blood and fire  
Lives connect in webs of gold and razor wire_

_Spin a thread of precious contact  
Squeeze in all that you can find  
Spontaneous relations  
And the long-enduring kind_  
-Rush, Time and Motion

As it turns out, not many board games can account for eight players. Yang learned this unfortunate fact by digging through a communal closet for the floor of the dorms they lived on that was full of decaying textbooks and weathered board games. Everyone considered playing Secret Hitler like they had the other night but determined that a single game would take too long with all eight of them present.

Eventually Nora clapped her hands together for dramatic effect and shouted. “What if we played truth or dare!?”

Pyrrha sighed and rested her head in her hand before responding. “Nora, why did you feel the need to wait until we are all out of board game ideas before you brought this up?” 

“Because if I hadn’t you’d all reject it immediately, obviously. But now it’s the only idea we’ve got so it’s either this or spending another boring evening alone in our respective dorms.”

“Terrifyingly cunning and without scruples as usual, Nora.”

“I don’t need scruples, I have Ren. Besides, it’s all in good fun.”

Truth or dare was probably a terrible idea. An absolutely, completely, utterly awful and disastrous idea. Exactly Yang’s brand of dumb idea. “Nora, that’s a terrible idea and I am completely on _board_.”

Suddenly, a streak of rose petals passed through Yang’s field of vision and at the same time a thousand droplets of water flew directly into her face, causing her to blink in surprise a few times. 

“Ruby, did you just spritz me in retaliation for a pun?”

“Yep.” Ruby stuck out her tongue.

“If you do that again I will spritz Crescent Rose’s outside with soda in the middle of the night so that when you wake up you have to clean all the soda residue off of her.”

“You wouldn’t.” Ruby was aghast.

“Try me, getting spritzed is really annoying.” She might, it’s not like it would hurt Crescent Rose or anything.

With a sigh Ruby pulled a bottle with a spray nozzle out of her cloak and tossed it in the trash. “Fine. I guess I’ll just have to get you back the normal way, vicariously through truth or dare.”

“Great!” Nora materialized between them with an arm casually wrapped around their shoulders. “That just leaves Blake and Pyrrha who haven’t sur-been convinced!”

Blake was teetering on the brink. “As long as we’re doing this responsibly I suppose. Responsibly meaning that we can blackball things. And that we keep it pg-13, for Ruby.”

“Oh yeah, totally, we can do this the right way in November, sometime before finals. Tonight can just be about wholesome bonding and shit. Meaning if you can’t handle a choice you can have the person give you something else from the category you didn’t pick.” Nora smoothly handled Blake’s concerns and zoomed off to harass Pyrrha.

As in nearly every encounter she had with Nora, Yang was left thinking one thing: what a strange person.

“My, it would just be _awful_ if I received some embarrassing dares or questions out there.” Weiss took hold of Yang’s hand and gave her a pointed look.

“So that’s why you agreed to this so easily. Because you’re a horny idiot.” 

“I primarily agreed because it is an interesting new experience that could be both fun and a good way to bond. The potential for delights that are more of an acquired taste is simply a bonus.”

“More like a boner-us.”

“Even you have to recognise that that was a really shitty pun.”

“Yeah, I regretted it instantly.”

“Good. Now come on, Pyrrha seems to be vanquished.”

Upon seeing that everyone in the dorm room was slowly starting to form a circle on the floor of the JNPR dorm room, Yang took Weiss’ hand and led her to a spot, putting Weiss between herself and Blake as subtly as possible. It would probably be best to stay away from them for a little while, even if they said that they were okay enough. Plus, her hand still hurt and remained wrapped in gauze. She had avoided telling them, but their teeth had dug in pretty deep.

Ruby ended up settling on the other side of Blake, next to Jaune, who was next to Pyrrha, who was next to Nora, who was next to Ren, who completed the circle by sitting next to Yang.

With everyone finally settled, Nora happily pulled out an empty glass Aura Cola bottle and threw it into the air with a spin. “Alright, this bitch empty. Yeet!” It landed precisely in the center of the circle and spun a few more times before slowing, coming to a crawling stop as it landed on Blake.

“I’ll take truth.” Blake looked at Nora calmly, waiting for their question.

“Why do you like fish so much?” It was a surprisingly innocuous question, and in response Blake’s mouth twitched just a little bit, almost in a smile and they stared off in the distance for a moment before answering.

“Back in the old days when my parents were the leaders of the White Fang we traveled a lot, but Menagerie was always home. It’s an island without a lot of arable land, so we eat a lot of fish and other things that come from the sea. When we traveled we would eat seafood whenever we were feeling homesick, and I still do. Salmon is my favourite simply because of personal taste.” They sighed, and smiled. “Not too much longer before I return.”

“What do you mean?” Jaune looked surprised, as did the rest of his team.

“Oh, I suppose we haven’t mentioned it yet, we’re all going to Menagerie to visit my parents over the first half of the break, then after that we’re going to visit Ruby and Yang’s dad in Patch.”

“Cool. Do we even know what we’re doing?” Jaune looked at his teammates in confusion.

Ren shrugged. “Nora and I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“In that case, you two are coming with me and Jaune to visit his family.” Pyrrha insisted.

“Whoa when did I agree to that?” Jaune was taken aback. 

“When you became my boyfriend. I’m going to have a nice long _talk_ with your father about how he didn’t let you train to be a huntsman when you told him you wanted to.” Pyrrha accentuated the word talk by slamming her fist into her open palm. 

“Oookay, I’m going to go ahead and spin the bottle now.” Blake spun it with a little bit of flair, and it ended up pointing at Yang. 

“Nice, hit me a dare, make sure it’s something spicy.” Time to get in the spirit of the game. 

Blake didn’t hesitate. “I dare you to get over here and stop beating yourself up about what happened earlier.” They patted their lap. 

A knot formed in Yang’s stomach. How could they know that she was still bothered by what she’d done? She looked away from Blake, ashamed. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Good, then you won’t have a problem with sitting in my lap for a while.”

“Fine.” Yang reluctantly crawled over to Blake and slid into their lap. They wrapped their arms around her comfortingly and she hung her head in response. “I don’t deserve this.”

“Yes you do. It’s okay Yang, please stop pretending to be okay when you aren’t. You can rely on me when you need to.” Blake’s embrace was pretty warm, and very sweet. 

Cautiously, Yang tried to do what they wanted her to do. She tried to let it out, just a little bit. And instead she started crying, bawling violently as she clutched at Blake’s shirt and they ran their hands through her hair. “I’m so sorry. It’s my fault.”

She was angry with herself for saying what led to Blake’s flashback, that there wasn’t anything immediate and tangible she could do to help them. She was angry at Adam, for being such an indescribably horrible person as she had gleaned from Blake’s comments and the severity of their reaction to what had happened.

“It’s okay Yang, you were already forgiven. It’s not your fault. You’re okay.” Blake kept stroking her hair as she let out her guilt, directed at herself, and her helpless anger, directed at Adam. She felt safe in their lap, like she didn’t have to be the really strong big sister for everyone at once. 

After a while Yang stopped sniffing, and looked up at Blake. “You really are too good for me.”

Blake shook their head sadly. “Most days I think the same thing about you.” 

At some point Yang had gotten rather tangled up in a mess of Blake’s legs, so she took a minute to extricate herself and go back to sitting in their lap normally. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry before.” Ruby stared at her with something approaching shock in her silver eyes.

“That was on purpose.” She knew it was silly now, but Yang had spent most of her childhood thinking that being around for Ruby to rely on meant that she had to rely on someone else, and there hadn’t been anyone else. So she had kept her troubles to herself. “And it was a poor decision.”

“Soooo, is it normal for truth or dare to turn into a group therapy session?” Jaune scratched his head awkwardly.

“It is to be expected when you consider that most of the people in this room are queer, and all but one are traumatized.” Ren nodded thoughtfully.

“Most of us? Who’s the other twelve and a half percent?” Weiss focused on Ren, brimming with a sudden and forceful curiosity.

“A slip of the tongue, I hadn’t considered that we weren’t quite above one half.” Ren seemed even more terse than usual, but his expression gave nothing away. 

“I see.” Weiss was obviously suspicious, but left things at that.

“Oh, I should spin the thingy now.” Yang leaned forward and unceremoniously spun the bottle before returning to cuddling up to Blake. She hadn’t realized how nice being needy could be. There was just something inherently different about letting your partner wrap themself around you than vice versa. Both were wonderful, but right then the former was what she needed.

“Dare.” Ren’s voice drew Yang’s attention away from Blake. She hadn’t even seen the bottle spinning, but it must have chosen him. 

“Hmmm.” Yang stared at Ren in contemplation. He was a very quiet person, so maybe she could use that to make an interesting dare. “I dare you to sing whatever song you know the lyrics to best.” 

“Very well.” Ren stood up slowly and took a deep breath, closing his eyes in concentration. 

“Lost in the sky  
Clouds roll by and I roll with them  
Arrows fly  
Seas increase and then fall again”

Ren wasn’t a very good singer. Still, Yang hadn’t expected him to be. The fact that the stoic man was clearly audible was something of a surprise. Even though he clearly lacked skill, he was clearly very attached to the song, his voice confident, yet mournful. 

“This world is spinning around me  
This world is spinning without me and  
Every day sends future to past  
Every breath leaves one less to my last”

Ren’s singing was becoming more and more emotive with each verse as he found his stride, yet somehow his face remained as stoic as always. It was the most emotion she had ever seen him express. Well, not seen so much as heard. 

“Watch the sparrow falling  
Gives new meaning to it all  
If not today nor yet tomorrow then some other day

“I’ll take seven lives for one  
And then my only father’s son  
As sure as I did love him I am not afraid”

At some point Yang had become enraptured by Ren’s singing. The morbid lyrics and Ren’s soft and plaintive voice had drawn her in. His face cracked, just a little bit, at the end of the fourth verse and Yang realized that his eyes glistened with barely restrained tears. 

“This world is spinning around me  
The whole world keeps spinning around me and  
All life is future to past  
Every breath leaves me one less to my last

“Pull me under  
Pull me under  
Pull me under, I'm not afraid  
All that I feel is honor and spite  
All I can do is to set it right”

“Will that suffice? It is a fairly long song.” Ren blinked rapidly as he returned his attention to Yang. 

“Er, yeah.” Yang was still trying to parse the lyrics and interpret the song with her limited rhetorical analysis skills as Ren sat back down. 

“Of course you would be a Dream Theater fan.” Weiss teased, then grew more gentle with him. “Though I hope that you find a different song from that album to be more relatable at this time.”

“I do, that is simply the song that has the most comprehensible lyrics, and I have it memorized as a result.” Nora laid a comforting hand on Ren’s shoulder as he spoke, releasing some unknown tension in his body. Then he leaned forward and spun the bottle for himself. 

It landed on Pyrrha. 

“Truth.”

“What do you want more than anything else in the world?”

“To protect people as a huntress. There really couldn’t be anything else.” Pyrrha said, as if it was completely matter-of-fact. 

Jaune nodded somberly. “Yeah, sometimes it’s easy to forget when we’re still learning and still being directed by our professors to stick to the relatively safe things that by becoming huntsmen we’re dedicating our lives to keeping people safe. That’s the most important thing here, even more so than family and partners. And that probably means that we’re going to die trying.”

“Honestly, I mostly came here because I’m a thrill seeker, and getting paid to fight sounded fun when I was younger and dumber. Didn’t help that there was also a healthy dose of wanting to stick with Ruby, who’s always been really inspired by our mom.” Yang hadn’t really considered that they would be facing death until the mission that had landed all of them on a train filled with White Fang members, and that insane bitch who nearly killed her. “Of course, the mission to the abandoned settlement changed that.”

“Maybe it would be best not to linger on this too much.” Pyrrha reached forward and spun the bottle, landing on Weiss as the next candidate.

“Truth.”

It took a moment of contemplation for Pyrrha to choose a question, during which she absentmindedly grabbed hold of Jaune’s hand. “Are you religious? If so please explain the religion.”

A long pause followed as Weiss fell into deep contemplation. Yang wouldn’t be surprised if the heiress chose to blackball that question, she had very deliberately avoided specifying exactly which deity she worshiped in the few instances that she had said anything at all about religion. 

“I did not intend to share this with you all yet.” Weiss began. “It is something that has been with me for a number of years, though more distinctly felt in the past few months, and in truth I have not yet told a single person about my religious inclinations, not even Winter. But, I have recently been told that I should put more faith in the good people around me, and it has worked out quite well so far.”

“My patron deity is Slaa’nthresh. They are the god of pleasure, overindulgence, excess, pain, and perfection. They embody endless indulgence in the pleasures of the world, and at the same time they serve as a benefactor to all who seek perfection, either in themselves or in their creations. The pleasure of improving in an art is always a tribute to them, though ordinarily it is indirectly so, because they are generally seen as being evil and corruptive, or at the least self-destructive in their pursuit of endless new forms of pleasure and perfection. Any questions?” Weiss bared her teeth in a satisfied smile as she finished her expository monologue. 

Yang leaned back into Blake’s lap. This was not quite the kind of belief that she had expected from Weiss, though it certainly did explain some things about her, especially how an ex-stuck-up rich brat sometimes becomes a shameless pervert in the presence of her partners.

“Are they nonbinary?” Blake ventured.

“Pretty much. You could argue that they’re gender fluid because of the way that they’re described in a few circumstances, but because they’re from a religion that is most commonly practiced in Mistral, there isn’t any appropriate queer language used to describe them that I’ve discovered. It may also be another reason behind why they’re disfavored.” 

“Ugh” Blake sighed in disgust. Mistral had a long history of being especially racist and queerphobic across the board, which continued into the present day. 

“How is it that you ended up worshipping a Mistralian deity?” Pyrrha had been listening raptly with her head resting on her palm as she listened to Weiss’ explanation.

“Well, growing up, my education on the cultures of the other kingdoms was largely neglected by my father. One of the few history teachers I had who intended to provide meaningful information about such things ended up being suddenly fired. When I investigated I discovered that my father had fired him because he had intended to teach me about various religions, something the amoral bastard has no appreciation for whatsoever.”

“Being a curious and subtly rebellious child, I immediately proceeded to do my own research with Klein’s help. The one that I ended up finding the most interesting was Kaalgoth’h, which is the name of the religion itself.” 

“There was something about Slaa’nthresh that drew me to them. They just struck the right chord in me as a rebellious, troubled young girl who didn’t even know she was queer yet and had spent her entire life without really being allowed to indulge in much of anything, and yet was determined to make her family business something that she could be proud of again. A task that demands perfection of me.”

“Thank you for sharing this Weiss, I’m honored that you trust us with this.” Pyrrha said as Weiss moved to spin the bottle.

“It’s nothing really, I’ve been told that I should have more faith in my friends, and have been trying to do so.” Weiss graciously deflected Pyrrha’s thanks as she took her turn at the Bottle of Choice.


	18. What's the Deal with Attraction Anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super motivated to write during my off days because the good ideas have just been bubbling up and fermenting all week. today's uploads contain the beginning of the world building and foreshadowing for plot things that will be happening eventually (yes that's right uploads! An interlude is coming after this chapter so that it doesn't interrupt the big first date for everyone)

_Oh yeah, I'll tell you something  
I think you'll understand  
Then I'll say that something  
I wanna hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand_

_Oh please, say to me  
You'll let me be your   
And please, say to me  
You'll let me hold your hand  
Now let me hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand_

_And when I touch you I feel happy  
Inside  
It's such a feeling that my love  
I get high  
I get high  
I get high_  
-The Beatles, I Want to Hold Your Hand

Ruby was utterly delighted when Weiss’ spin nominated her as the next person to choose between truth and dare. It took nearly a minute of frenzied internal deliberation to make the choice, she was just so excited that it was almost impossible to decide whether she wanted Weiss to know more about her or make her do something that would presumably be fun. 

“Uhhh, I guess truth?” The deciding factor ended up being that Weiss had just done a bunch of talking about herself, and it was incredibly interesting to learn about and made Ruby want to do something similar, though she didn’t have any personal religious beliefs.

“Very well then, who is your first love?” Weiss shot Ruby a flirtatious wink.

“Oh come on Weiss, that’s too easy. It’s Crescent Rose, duh.” Ruby rolled her eyes, Weiss’ question was actually a bit disappointing. As if it could have been anyone other than her sweet baby sniper scythe. 

“Yeah, come on Weiss, you should have known the answer to that question.” Yang leaned to the side and gave Weiss a playful punch on the shoulder from Blake’s lap.

“Oh no, you misunderstand my intentions. I was fully aware that that was the answer, I just really wanted to see Ruby get starry-eyed the way that she does when she talks about Crescent Rose.” Weiss shrugged and held her hands out in surrender. “She is simply too adorable.” 

The rest of the evening passed quickly, with dares and questions staying more carefully on the side of playfulness, rather than things that would lead to more serious discussion. Ruby was a little disappointed when it had to end, as it was an end that meant the end of their days off from schoolwork as well. 

Her disappointment soon faded when she was sandwiched comfortably between Weiss and Blake in bed. It turned out to be almost impossible to be sad about needing to go to bed when she had two very affectionate romantic partners to snuggle.

Morning passed by in typical fashion, with the usual disputes and shouting about how long everyone was taking in the bathroom, mostly Yang, who always needed a lot of time to properly shampoo her massive mane. Though Ruby had never heard her sister sarcastically invite Weiss and Blake to join her if they were in such a hurry before. At least she liked to think it was sarcasm, sometimes it was hard to tell.

Doctor Oobleck’s class was difficult to follow. Ruby found herself regularly distracted by how pretty Weiss’ handwriting was while she took notes, or how intense Blake’s gaze was as they concentrated on understanding what the hyperactive professor was saying. It also didn’t help that her understanding of the things they had missed in the last three days was as good as can be expected, but she had had no homework to properly help her study the lessons Weiss had run everyone through. 

It wasn’t until Professor Peach’s Ecology of Sanus class that her attempts to be studious completely fell apart.

“For the remainder of the week we will study the effect that the natural presence of dust has had on the evolution of various species and the shaping of the environment. Given that there are only two days remaining in the week, I’m sure that all of you are quite curious how we could cover what must be such an extensive topic so quickly. The answer is that the influence of dust on ecology does not appear to exist.”

A touch on Ruby’s leg startled her just as she had started paying attention. Looking down, she found a sticky note attached to where Weiss had briefly touched her. 

_Do you have a nice outfit for Saturday?_

Ruby quickly scribbled an affirmative stating that she would wear the dress she had worn to the Beacon Dance and handed the note back so that she could listen to the lecture that she actually found interesting now that it was about dust.

“The salmon that travel up the Voltaic River every year are in no noticeable way any different from those that breed in different rivers, despite the presence of a significant electric current in the river that is created by it’s nearness to a vein of volatile lightning dust. Curiously, when these same salmon are captured and put into artificially created conditions mirroring those of the river, they are promptly electrocuted and die. Similarly, bats that live in caves with fire dust deposits are unaffected by the heat they create, despite the fact that these deposits create temperatures that would ordinarily signal an end to their hibernation in the depths of winter.”

Once again Ruby was distracted by the passing of a sticky note. This time it was from both Blake and Weiss.

_I did enjoy seeing you in that dress. I’ve found something much better than what I wore that night for myself though XO-Blake_

_As have I, obviously. Coco is a genius of fashion and has actually managed to make me a dress that will be done tomorrow, though neither of you will be seeing it until the big night-Weiss_

_Nuuuuu, stop teasing me by talking about the pretty outfits that you’re going to wear, I need to learn school things more better-Ruby_

“Furthermore, areas containing dust veins have geographically developed without being affected by the presence of dust either. Caves containing fire dust were hollowed out very long times ago by rivers that should have been evaporated by said dust. Areas where earthquakes are frequent do not experience large disturbances because of said earthquakes shifting or relocating dust while it is beneath the earth.”

“Even more curiously, dust deposits do not fit into any existing theories about the natural genesis of ores such as iron and aluminium. There are no consistent geographical processes that can be said to create dust. The ecological world exists and dust has no apparent effect on it, as if it has only appeared sometime after the world finished it’s natural development. Despite this, the existence of dust predates known history, just like grimm. The purpose of this brief section is to impress upon you just how incredibly strange these facts are.”

_Oh? I don’t recall saying anything about a pretty outfit, simply a better one-Blake_

_I shall pray that you are implying it’s a suit-Weiss_

_Whoa-R_

For Ruby, the rest of the lecture was spent completely focused on thinking about how Blake would look in a suit. Even Weiss was so distracted by the idea that she stopped taking notes, maybe because she was also completely distracted thinking about Bleak in a suit, or maybe because she was literally praying.

As soon as the lecture ended Yang rushed to question Ruby on what she had been passing notes with Blake and Weiss about.

“We were discussing what we plan to wear on Saturday.” Ruby did her best to not reveal the conclusion she and Weiss had jumped to, as a form of continued revenge for Yang’s puns.

“Okay, but what did Blake write that made you and Weiss spend the rest of the lecture staring off into space while practically drooling?”

“Nothing of _note,_ but I guess you’ll just have to wait and find out. We were just speculating anyway.” Ruby stuck her tongue out at Yang before dashing off to their next class.

Later, after classes were over, Ruby stretched herself out and yawned, having finally finished her homework for the day. A quick glance around the dorm revealed that Weiss was still studiously preparing for an essay that wouldn’t be due until next week, and Blake was in their bed reading a book.

With nothing better to do, Ruby hopped up to Blake’s bedside. “Hey Blake, can I read that with you?”

“It’s pretty straight, would you be interested anyway?” Blake turned their eyes on Ruby searchingly.

“Probably, you have good taste, except for the filth.”

Blake chuckled and patted the spot in their bed beside them. “I don’t actually have good taste, but this also isn’t filth so sure, come on up.”

Ruby ended up in between Blake and their scroll with their arms wrapped snugly around her. For a while they just read. Ruby ended up being the one who turned pages because Blake always read them faster than she did. When she reached the point where the main character met a lady who would probably be the main love interest though, Ruby found herself utterly confused.

“What’s up with this paragraph, and the next one?” The paragraphs in question featured a strangely detailed description of the lady’s body, and the main character’s immediate interest in such.

“Yeah, I mean that’s one of the ways that you can tell a cis man wrote this. Male romance authors are like that sometimes.” Blake shrugged. “I’m pretty much used to it.”

“So you’re saying that men can just see a person they’ve never met and think ‘oh yeah, insert sex things’?” Ruby was experiencing something between shock, surprise, and the kind of sudden understanding that is often found while exploring an abandoned railway tunnel only to suddenly see bright headlights approaching rapidly out of the darkness.

“Huh? Oh, no. I thought that you just meant the awkward-ass way that her boobs are described. Sometimes being sexually attracted to people immediately after meeting them just happens for us allosexuals.”

That was even worse, and made even less sense. “What? I don’t understand. How is that possible?”

“Well, you’re really tantric, so when you see a cute girl from a distance without being able to tell if she’s nice do you think about cuddling her?” 

“Sometimes, I guess.”

“Right, so it’s like that but with sexual attraction. It’s there, but you probably won’t actually act on it unless you had no self-control, or were just very happy to casually cuddle any cute girl you meet and who also wants to cuddle you.”

“Hmmmmm. I guess. Allos are still weird though. After all, I’ve gotten to know you really well for a bunch of months and there’s only a little bit more than this that I want to do with you.” Giving up on the book, Ruby decided to just turn around and give Blake a soft kiss, slipping her arms behind their shoulders.

Blake hummed happily as they separated. “A little bit more you say?”

Ruby squirmed awkwardly for a moment and looked away. “Weeeeeell, I have kinda been thinking about just like, tantrically touching each other a little bit more. Like say, just sliding my hand under your shirt a little bit and touching your abs and your belly, or just running my hands over your arms more.” 

“I do believe that I would enjoy that.” Blake put aside their scroll and took hold of Ruby’s hand, gently guiding it under their shirt. “You can touch, but don’t look, or ask about the texture.”

At first Ruby wasn’t sure what Blake meant, then she felt them. The scars that they had mentioned the other night. Small, subtle ridges marking their smooth skin and firm abs. Not deep, but numerous. Her throat tightened up. “Oh.” 

“Shhhh, it’s okay Ruby. I’m in a good headspace. Your hands are soft and warm and gentle and I like letting you touch me like this. So go ahead, and feel free to trace over them. Or if you want you can stop. It’s up to you.” Blake moved their grip to Ruby’s upper arms, gently rubbing their thumbs in circles on her skin. 

“O-okay.” Cautiously, Ruby started to explore Blake’s belly. Her hands gently traced the muscles of their abs and indentations of scars in equal measure as she stared raptly into their eyes. Their smile encouraged her to keep going, and at some point they closed their eyes and relaxed, going almost entirely limp. “Blake?”

“Mmmm, I’d forgotten how nice it is to just be touched like this. Want me to touch you a little bit too?” Blake tugged inquisitively at Ruby’s shirt, prompting a blush.

“Yes please.” Ruby drummed her fingers along Blake’s abs, causing them to gasp. “Was that a good gasp or a bad gasp?”

“It was good.” Blake’s fingers slipped under Ruby’s shirt and explored her toned belly, each touch shooting warm tingles through her body. 

On a whim Ruby leaned forward and pressed her lips to Blake’s. They held the kiss for longer than necessary before she pulled back with a gigantic grin, feeling heady and warm and soft. “I think that’s enough.” 

Immediately, Blake pulled their hand out from under Ruby’s shirt. “Is something wrong?” 

“No, I just feel kinda funny. Flushed and lightheaded, but in a good way, and really really happy.” Ruby settled herself on top of Blake and wrapped herself around them contently. 

“I see.” A single eyebrow crawled up Blake’s forehead. 

“Why’d you say that with the same tone of voice that Weiss uses when she knows that someone is lying but won’t call them out on it because she respects their privacy?”

“I’m deliberately avoiding making any assumptions about what you just said.”

“I don’t understand what you mean by that at all.”

“Well, the way you just said that you feel sounds to me like some form of sexual attraction, or maybe just libido, I don’t really know how to divorce the two for myself.” 

“Yeah, no. I don’t think so anyway. I’m just sort of more emotionally sensitive to touch than most people.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t really stand handshakes with strangers or getting hugged by people that I’m not close to, it makes me feel sick and gross. The opposite applies when I want to be touched. It's really sweet and intimate and makes me very happy.”

“I see.”

“You’re doing it again.”

“Sorry, same reason as before but slightly different. I’m not going to tell you what I’m thinking this time though because it’s almost certainly wrong.”

“I see.” Ruby said in her best impression of Weiss, and then they both burst out laughing before spending the rest of the afternoon cuddling. Weiss joined them once she was satisfactorily through with her homework.


	19. Interlude: Old Boys, Old Mistakes

_Welcome to my realm  
We're both condemned to live  
It's a dark fate I  
Can hear your calls  
I can hear your calls_

_I see it still burns  
Each night I cry in pain_

_Alive  
Though the end appears my friend_  
-Blind Guardian, Blood Tears

Taiyang Xiao Long blearily made his way to the front door that refused to stop making noise on his day off. It was generally a bad thing when that happened. Nobody bothered coming all the way out to his humble abode unless they were family or bringing news of interesting times, or worse, both. 

Lo and behold, that which awaited him beyond was indeed none other than the physical manifestation of both, Qrow Branwen. 

“Why the hell are you here you grumpy old man?” Tai held no venom behind the words, Qrow was always welcome company, even if he tended to be a bearer of Oz-related bad news.

“Yes, because you’re so full of youthful vigor yourself.” Qrow rolled his eyes and gestured at Tai’s thoroughly unkempt presentation. He was fully aware that his hair was a mess of bedhead, and his clothes somehow so sloppily arranged, even though they were just a shirt and cargo shorts.

“It’s my day off, and I wasn’t expecting company.” Tai shrugged.

“Gods, I expected you to be a mess without the girls to take care of and make you pretend to be put-together, but this is just excessive. Please tell me you’re wearing underwear right now.” Qrow shouldered his way past Tai and into the hallway proper.

“Sure, if it makes you feel better. Not like there’s anything you haven’t seen before though.” Tai knew he hadn’t been ready to handle his daughters leaving home, but that still didn’t mean that Qrow’s accurate commentary didn’t hurt. 

It was damned hard to clean the house with nobody else but Zwei around, and dust had gathered on shelves while plenty of additional food and drink stains had appeared on the carpet and couch. Most of his willpower went into taking care of the garden.

“Hmmm, no trash strewn about at least.” Qrow casually flopped onto the couch, so Tai dumped himself in his recliner with a roll of his eyes.

“I have standards.”

“Says the man who slept with me after Summer died.”

“You know I don’t regret that and I never will. You’re a good man Qrow, even when you pretend not to be.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m just unlucky, whatever. I’m not here to have that conversation again.” Qrow waved off Tai’s concern before taking a swig from the omnipresent flask at his hip. 

“Fine then, I’ll bite. Why are you here?”

“I told Yang where she can find Raven.”

Tai sighed heavily. “Fair enough.”

“That’s it? I broke our agreement and that’s your response?”

“I’m not going to be mad at you because you think you deserve it Qrow. It was a foolish arrangement anyway, and it’s about damn time we told her. I was just too cowardly to do it myself.”

“You’ll also be getting a fun little nugget of information when everyone visits you over Winter Break.” Qrow’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

“Why do you feel the need to phrase that so ominously?”

“I just like fucking with you.” Qrow winked flirtatiously at Tai.

“Flirt or feel sorry for yourself, pick one.”

Qrow just rolled his eyes and took another swig from his flak while flipping Tai the bird.

“You’re going through that flask faster than you were last time I saw you.” Admittedly, it had been months.

“Still more slowly than I was last week. I’m trying to cut back, which means that I’m not refilling this damn thing until after lunch.”

After lunch turned out to actually mean the instant that the clock struck noon. By then, his hand was subtly shaking, and sweat beaded on his brow. Qrow was cutting back by limiting himself to three or four flasks of liquor a day. It worried Tai, but there wasn’t anything productive to be said about it.

“You’re the one with the real courage you know.” Qrow mumbled across the table as they sat down for lunch. “Raven and I ran away, Summer died doing hell knows what. You’re the only one of us strong enough to stick around.”

Tai laughed self-deprecatingly. “Only reason for that is because I got tired. Too damn tired of fighting every day. If I hadn’t I probably would have gone with Summer on whatever Oz was making her do.”

“Wait, what? Oz knew what she was doing? He always said that he didn’t!”

“I don’t exactly know that for sure. Her diary entry that coincides with the day she left says that Oz was taking her to her vault to show her something. So I assumed...”

“I think we need to take a look at that diary.”

“It’s not here. Ruby takes it everywhere with her. Hasn’t let me touch it since she was seven and could read well enough to understand it. I might actually be misremembering in the first place, though I think she did visit her vault at some point near the end.”

“I’m starting to wonder if Raven was right.”

“I don’t think there was any doubt about that, the real question is what we can do about it.”

“I think I’m going to start by asking Ruby about that diary next time we’re in the same city, though I don’t think that will be for a while.”

“You could always take a vacation.”

“You know I don’t get vacation days.”

“You’re valuable enough that you deserve them. Demand he give you a break when the girls are here come Winter, I doubt he’ll be able to turn you down. You should be here, for them, and for me.” Tai took hold of Qrow’s hand, interlacing their fingers.

“Ugh, you’re lucky you have such a nice ass.” Qrow rolled his eyes again, but didn’t pull away.

“Apparently Branwens just can’t resist it.”

“Fine, I’ll do it. I’m probably just going to end up repeating the same old mistakes as before though.”

“That’s fine, as long as you come back.”


	20. Preparations

_Inexhaustible  
The strength of fire  
Is running through me  
Spike like beam of light  
What mortal could ever  
Break this force  
Unconstrained  
I see at last  
My backbone straighten  
Thy serpent made of bones  
Finally rise up  
From the ground awaken_  
-Gojira, Backbone

Weiss was a little bit surprised that not a single person commented on the absence of both her team and JNPR over the past three days, especially given the troublemaking reputation that they had developed. After taking a few minutes to listen in on miscellaneous conversations however, she realized just how self-centered that view was. The entire school was still reeling with shock at the fact that the White Fang had launched an attack on Vale on the day of the Vytal Tournament. 

Her change in name and pronouns had not gone quite as unnoticed. She could feel the same stares at her back and whispered conversations all around her that had happened when she first arrived at Beacon. They would get used to her soon enough, and move on to the next subject of interest. Still, nobody dared harass her, nor did professors make too many mistakes, the former likely due to Coco’s influence, and the latter to Ozpin’s. 

As a result the second day of being back in classes passed by without anything of note happening, except perhaps the continued restlessness she felt. Blake refused to provide a clear answer on the question of what they were going to wear, and she refused to tell them about the dress she had asked Coco to make in response. It was more fun this way, but it was also driving her insane with anticipation. 

In similar fashion, Yang refused to be specific about what she intended to wear as well, only assuring Weiss that it would be appropriate for the locale. Knowing Yang, that could mean so many different things that she dreaded to even try and imagine what sort of disaster may loom over her. 

Since multiple people were going out of their way to deliberately obfuscate their apparel, everyone agreed to split up to make preparations and all meet again under a pavilion at precisely six, twenty minutes before their ship left. 

That was how Weiss had ended up alone in the team CFVY dorm with Velvet and Coco thirty minutes before her first date with her entire team. She had intended to just change into her dress and then spend a good half hour just hanging out with a few non-romantic girlfriends and psyching up for her date. 

What actually happened was that from the moment Coco and Velvet saw Weiss at the door, she had been trapped in a whirlwind makeover. First they had shoved a wig that perfectly matched her own hair color onto her head, insisting that she wear it since they just had it lying around. Then they had locked her in the attached bathroom and told her to change into her dress, but they had also put a handy pocket in the chest that was filled by a pair of slim breast forms.

Looking in the mirror, she found herself completely unable to be frustrated with Coco for dumping all of this on her without warning. The wig gave her incredibly long hair that was done up in an elegant braid and topped by a three pronged tiara with a ruby in it. She didn’t dare check whether it was real, but knowing Coco it probably was. It did an incredible job of accentuating her dress, a tight sleeveless number that started right below her arms and stopped about mid thigh, clinging tightly to her lithely muscular body all the way. At the top it was a perfect black, that slowly graduated into rich purple, into deep pink as it reached the bottom. The way the colors were blended together served to perfectly accentuate the curves she was fortunate enough to have in small amounts already, while hiding certain other parts of her anatomy.

Coco stared at her smugly as she stepped out of the bathroom. “Well, brilliant as usual aren’t I?”

“Yes, this is incredible, thank you so much.” Weiss held her arms out and gave a little twirl to show off.

Velvet excitedly gave Weiss a round of applause. “I’m glad we could help, you really do look amazing Weiss. If you were single Coco would almost certainly be hitting on you right now.” 

“Velvs, you wound me. I’d have been hitting on her days ago. If she likes men, that is, the team coffecule is a package deal.” The last phrase was directed at Weiss with a wink.

“Alas, to my eternal satisfaction I do not. However if my tastes change and relationships fail I will be sure to let you know that you’re my second choice.” Weiss was careful to keep her voice deadpan. 

“Ah Schnees, this generation are all such tsunderes. It’s what makes them so much fun to mess with. But enough talk, have at you!” Coco gestured dramatically at a point on the wall, which cued Velvet to go and grab a large box that she unfolded to reveal a smorgasbord of makeup. 

“Oh no, I couldn’t ask you to er, make me up too.” Weiss stumbled over her words, she knew literally nothing about makeup, including the verb that signified the act of applying it.

“In that case it’s a good thing that you aren’t asking, I’m telling. You aren’t leaving this room without at least a little bit of makeup. You don’t really need much, but imagine if we completed the pastel goth look by adding some eye shadow, thickening your lashes, and making your face look just a little bit paler, vampiric even.”

“Oh, well. I suppose that pastel goth is admittedly a very good aesthetic.” Weiss could feel her resistance wavering. “Fine, as long as you can get it done and teach me how I’m going to take it off later within fifteen minutes, a Schnee is never late.”

“And nor is she ever not uptight. Don’t worry, I got this shit. Velvs, please hand me my brush.” Coco was admittedly a masterful touch, and together with Velvet she finished applying exactly what she had said that she would. 

When Weiss looked in the hand mirror that was brought before her she felt like she was looking at an entirely different person. Someone beautiful, with long flowing hair, beautiful brooding eyes, and a gigantic, genuine smile on her face. She felt ready to cry with joy.

“Okay, so I’ve gone through this too and it’s probably a really moving moment for you, but try not to cry or we’ll just have to take it all off because there isn’t time to fix it.” Velvet grasped Weiss’ shoulder, grounding her.

“Right, good point. Wait, what do you mean that you’ve gone through it too?” 

“When Coco put makeup on me and I looked at myself for the first time. It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Velvet averted her eyes somewhat awkwardly.

“She was adorable and extremely flustered, she said that she was so happy that she could kiss me, I told her to do it, and she did.” Coco rested her hand on Velvet’s head.

“That’s adorable, my first kiss with Ruby happened because she tackled me to the ground in excitement when I tried on her clothes because I hadn’t gotten my own yet. Nowhere near as romantic.”

“Nah, that’s pretty romantic. And queer as fuck, I love it. But we’re done with you, so you had better get out to your partners. Think about how grateful you are for my existence while you melt their brains and bitch slap their hearts.”

“You can damn well bet I will.” Weiss nodded enthusiastically as she headed out with one final wave.

As Weiss stepped out of the room and the door closed behind her she realized that she felt ready to emerge from her shell once and for all. From this point on she swore that she wouldn’t hide her identity from anyone who asked her the question directly, nor would she be bothered to actively hide from her father. It wasn’t like she needed his approval to continue at Beacon, she was an adult and she had plentiful assets that he would be unable to remove from her even when he inevitably disowned her. Certainly though, she wasn’t going to deliberately tell him for as long as practical either, but that wouldn’t be difficult. She had already been ignoring his calls since Winter’s visit anyway. 

Weiss’ shoes clacked softly on the marbled floors of the entrance hall as she took a roundabout path to the gardens that should let her arrive at precisely the correct time. She had almost wanted to wear heels, but had absolutely no idea how to walk in them, and had instead opted for a pair of very gay black combat boots that climbed up to her mid calf. She had also considered wearing thigh highs to create some of that sweet sweet zettai ryouiki, but didn’t have any in colors that worked well with everything else.

When Weiss finally reached the pavilion she was left breathless. The sun had finished setting, leaving everything lit by the light of the moon and stars. Through some incredible twist of fate all four of them even managed to arrive at precisely the correct time from different directions.

The first person in Weiss’ line of sight was Ruby. She had not worn her dress from the Dance after all. Instead she wore a black dress trimmed with red that would have left her shoulders and arms bare if not for the low cut white blouse with long sleeves that she wore under it. Two black leather bracers were attached to her wrists and much of the outfit was held together with small belts and buckles, a red one at the top of the dress cinching it tightly to her, and an unnecessarily large black belt laden with ammo at her waist. She also wore black thigh highs that stopped a few inches below the hem of the dress, creating a strip of smooth creamy skin between them. And of course, her great big red cloak adorned her back.

Yang’s lack of bullshit shocked Weiss. As always, her golden hair flowed unendingly around her as she laughed joyfully, a beautiful mane that highlighted the violet of her eyes. She wore a bright yellow sundress that was covered in frills and ran down to her ankles but also left plenty of her arms bare, showing off her bulging biceps and triceps, as well as generous cleavage.

And then there was Blake. They were all angles and darkness under the scattered light of the moon, like the incomprehensible manifestation of some eldritch horror that had deemed Weiss fit to gaze upon a form beyond any mortal descriptions of beauty. Their inky black hair shifted and danced in the wind as it’s short strands flitted about before them. Their bright eyes shone out like two drops of liquid gold from the shadows of their face. 

Over their torso was nothing less than a tuxedo so purple it was almost black, or maybe so black it was almost purple? Either way it fit tightly to their figure, and Weiss noticed that their chest was currently flat, bound no doubt. They wore white silk gloves and a pristine white shirt beneath the tux, accented by a tie the color of roses. Their suit pants were similarly dark and form-fitting, revealing no skin, yet leaving nothing about their muscular legs to the imagination. They also wore black heeled boots almost as high as their knees.

“Holy shit.” Weiss wasn’t sure who said it, but they were right. This was just too much for her poor gay heart.

Focusing on taking deep, even breaths, Weiss stumbled her way over to the pavilion itself and collapsed onto the bench within it, unable to tear her eyes away from the beautiful people who had joined her and were all similarly affected by each other’s outfits. “Holy fucking shit.” Melt their brains and bitch slap their hearts indeed. Weiss felt the need to put a hand over her own heart to ensure that it had not burst out of her chest.

“AHHHHHHH.” Ruby appeared to be coping with the fact that they were all too gay to function by screaming happily and running in circles to burn off energy as she looked between Blake and Weiss, her gaze flickering rapidly from one to the other.

With an aura of absolute calm, Yang walked over to the pavilion and started slamming her forehead against a concrete support with her aura protecting her as she fist pumped like a madwoman.

The only person who managed to remain calm in the gay panic was Blake, who simply smiled and cooly observed everyone else freaking out, something that made Weiss want to swoon even harder over them. 

“Fuck, goddamn, goddamn motherfucker, holy shit.” Apparently, Weiss’ method of coping with being unable to function was to repeatedly mumble expletives and pray in gratitude. She mentally made note that she should make a nice blood offering to Slaa’nthresh sometime soon.

After letting them get it out of their systems for a few minutes, Blake began to herd everyone together into a state of calmness. Their cool touch on Weiss’ shoulder prompted her to stand once she no longer felt the need to take deep slow breaths. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” Weiss had to look up more than usual to talk to Blake, thanks to their boots. “You look really amazing in that suit.”

“If you think I look good in it, just wait until you see me out of it.” Blake winked, causing Weiss and Yang to go through entirely new fits of gayness as Ruby stood by with a contemplative look on her face.

“Goddamn Blake, I appreciate it, but at the same time if you don’t dial it back you’re going to give us heart attacks. We’re lucky Weiss is too much of a bottom to be good at flirting.” Sweat beaded on Yang’s brow as she leaned against the pillar she had previously been headbutting.

“Excuse you! I am excellent at flirting.”

“Oh really? Name one time that you flirted with me.”

“On the way back from the group movie night you flirted and I flirted back.”

“So you admit that the things you said when I was carrying you were flirting?”

“Yes.”

“So then you flirt by insulting people without really meaning it?”

“I suppose that you could describe it that way.”

“Then you admit that you’re a tsundere!”

“What! No! I’m not a tsundere you idiot!”

“Only a tsundere would flirt with someone by insulting them.”

“Ruby? Blake? A little help here?” Ruby and Blake shrugged.

“Sorry snowflake, but she isn’t wrong. You use ‘dolt’ as a term of endearment for me, and it used to be an insult.” Ruby’s eyes were compassionate silver platters, yet they held no mercy. 

“I will say that you’re very sweet with me and were not a tsundere on our date, but you definitely are with these two and it’s adorable.” Blake smiled sadistically. 

“I... well, fine. I guess I’m a tsundere then.” Weiss folded her arms over her chest with a pout. “I don’t really want to be, even though you know I don’t mean these things when I say them. But a lot of the time I feel the need to be guarded about some things and it comes out saying mean things instead of what I feel and-“ Weiss took a deep breath, drawing strength from the thought that her makeup would be ruined if she cried. “I’m sorry.”

Yang slowly walked up and placed her hands on either side of Weiss’ head, making their eyes meet. “Weiss, there’s nothing to be sorry about. _I’m_ sorry, I should have realized that teasing you about it was really bothering you and stopped.”

“You are forgiven, brute that you are. I simply cannot expect any better from someone such as yourself.” Weiss did her best to let Yang know that she was feeling better before leaning forward and standing up on her toes to give the blonde a quick kiss. 

“I can only suppose that by ‘someone like yourself’ you mean someone who is a smoking hot gorgeous catch, and everything you could ever want in a girlfriend.” Yang stood up straight and put a fist over her heart proudly. 

“Sure, keep telling yourself that Xiao Long. Maybe someday it’ll be true.” Weiss briefly checked the time on her scroll. “We need to start moving to the airship docks.” 

With sighs of regret that they didn’t have more time to simply ogle each other, team RWBY moved out, making their way steadily to the docks. 

On the way Blake drew Weiss’ attention to them by taking her hand. “Why is it that you’re so sweet with me?”

“Well, I suppose that it’s because you get it.”

“Get what?”

“You’re not cis, and we share a few other life experiences that they don’t have and hopefully never will.” Weiss gestured at the radiant sisters walking slightly ahead of them. “You get it, and I feel more comfortable being emotionally vulnerable around you.” She was aware that part of her difficulty was a result of the fact that she had spent her teenage years being told that feelings like love were a weakness to hide from and exploit in others. That part was not a subject of discussion for tonight. 

“Well, thank you for your confidence.” 

Weiss smiled, nodded and let go of Blake’s hand to catch up with Ruby, who had rushed ahead as usual. “Ruby, come back! I want to carry you!” 

Just like that, Ruby pivoted on the spot with the help of her semblance and rushed back, jumping into Weiss’ arms. “Okay.” 

As she hefted her girlfriend in her arms, Weiss leaned down and gave her a kiss. “Alright, it’s time to get this shit started. This is going to be the best group date I’ve ever been on. Also going to be the worst, but let’s just focus on the positives, eh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Insert that meme of Marge Simpson holding Blake in a suit*
> 
> I just think they’re neat
> 
> also:   
> Trans Velvet  
> Trans Velvet


	21. Diner? I hardly know her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ACAB

_When I'm with you, it doesn't matter where we are  
Or what we're doing, I'm with you, that's all that matters  
Time passes much too quickly when we're together laughing  
I wish I could sing it to you, oh no  
I wish I could sing it to you_

_When I kiss you, I feel a thousand different feelings  
The color of chills all over my body  
And when I feel them, I quickly try to decide which one  
I should try to put into words, oh no  
Try to put into words_

_Only the beginning of what I want to feel forever yeah  
Oh no whoa yes  
Only the beginning, only just the start  
I've got to get you into my life  
Got to get you next to me  
Only the beginning, only just the start_  
-Chicago, Beginnings

Physically, binding their chest made it slightly more difficult for Blake to breathe, mentally however, it was much easier. They wouldn’t be able to go on missions like this, but that should be fine, they hadn’t felt the need to bind most days thus far. It was also very nice in that it took some of the implications out of letting their numerous girlfriends rest their heads on their chest as they were driven to their destination.

The trip to the restaurant that Weiss had told them about was rather short. She had had a small limo with tinted windows and four seats in the back that all faced each other pick them and drive them all the short distance to what appeared to be a nondescript office building in a southern part of Vale’s downtown. Along the way she had refused to give them any details about where exactly they were going, simply describing it as a place that the wealthy and famous frequent in order to feel like a private citizen in a pseudo-public space.

“Are you sure this is it?” Yang looked around expectantly as they stepped out of the car. “I don’t see anything that looks like a fancy restaurant or whatever.”

“That’s the point Yang, not everything has to be as dramatic as you are.” Weiss rolled her eyes and walked up to the side door of the seemingly empty building, knocking twice, then twice again, and then once. “Schnee, party of four.”

The door opened from the inside to reveal a hulking goateed man in a suit, who’s eyes immediately widened upon seeing Yang. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Oh, hey Junior. What are you doing here?” Yang grinned, putting a hand on her hip cockily.

“I had to get a side gig to keep the club running after all the property damage you caused.” Junior grimaced accusingly at Yang.

A nervous chuckle slipped out of Yang. “Oh, right. About that, um, I know it’s probably a bit late, but I’m sorry about my ah, youthful indiscretions. I’m trying to be a better person.” Blake had never seen her look so uncomfortable in a social situation before.

“Oh well, that’s fine then, don’t worry about it.”

“Really?”

“No!” Junior rolled his eyes and stepped out of the doorway. “Whatever, just come in and enjoy your stay and whatever. Here’s the damn floor plan.” 

A pamphlet displaying multiple floors that contained a variety of everyday attractions was shoved unceremoniously into Blake’s hands as they followed Weiss in. Surprisingly, all of the restaurants seemed to represent a variety of regional cuisine, and none of them even seemed especially high class in nature. There was even a diner and branches of various fast food chains. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be nicer to your customers?” Blake questioned Junior.

“Nope, being treated rudely by some of the service staff is part of the appeal for these snobs.” Junior inclined his head towards Weiss.

“He’s right, it’s very refreshing to be treated bluntly by someone who doesn’t like me rather than being tiptoed around or tolerated to garner influence.” Weiss shrugged unapologetically.

“Yeesh, rich people are weird. Whatever, let’s get to dinner so that I don’t have to listen to this ugly bastard be rude to my girlfriend anymore.” Yang stuck her tongue out at Junior.

“What happened to growing up and being a better person?” Blake raised their eyebrows inquisitively.

“I am a better person, I would have to have an actual reason before I went and wrecked his club again, but I also just don’t like the guy. An actual reason could be, like say, if he was being mean to Weiss.”

At some point in the discussion Ruby had snached the pamphlet away from Blake and started reading through it, then she seemed to find something interesting because she shouted excitedly and started pushing Yang around. “They have a diner here! We’ve got to go there, diners don’t even exist anywhere anymore! This is gonna be so cool.” Ruby fist pumped as she started herding her team.

"Diner? I hardly know her." Yang quipped.

“Aren’t we sort of overdressed for a diner?” Blake had actually expected some kind of rich person dress code, given that Weiss had insisted on everyone dressing up.

“We’re going to be overdressed for anywhere we go actually, I only insisted that everyone dress well because I wanted us to go all out tonight.” Weiss confessed.

“I’m not complaining.” Blake let themself take a moment to look Weiss over for the hundredth time that evening. She was even more of a fucking snack then usual, her dress clung tightly to her and rippling with beautiful colors as she moved. All of the pale skin she had revealed looked temptingly soft and the confident smile on Weiss’ face was radiant in a way unlike Blake had ever seen her before. Coco seriously knew what she was doing.

“Mmmm, me neither.” Ruby seemed to have almost as much appreciation for Weiss as Blake did, though they saw her eyes lingering on them slightly more often.

“Nor I.” Yang paused for a moment in contemplation. “Damn sis, isn’t it awesome that our partners are going to be the hottest people in the room at any given point tonight?”

“Yeah!” Ruby grinned and gave Yang a high five. 

“Diner sounds like an interesting experience then, I guess. Unless you had something else planned, Weiss?” Blake looked to Weiss for guidance.

“The diner sounds excellent, I had intended for us to choose where we eat after our arrival from the beginning anyway.” Weiss nodded reassuringly.

As expected, the diner was not in fact situated separately from the main building in a trailer like a real diner would be, but the inside of two offices on the first floor had been extensively remodeled to appear as the inside of a diner would. The walls were covered in shiny metal, there were brightly colored booths, and the windows looked out over the street outside. The atmosphere was lighthearted, if quiet given the evening hour and exclusivity of the locale. There was even a jukebox in a corner, converted to digital functionality and operable at no cost. A slight smattering of patrons were present, though they all had a relaxed air to them and dressed casually. None did more than glance in their direction as the strange party of four that was team RWBY came in.

They settled into a booth on their own, with Yang calling dibs on getting to sit next to Weiss, which left Blake next to Ruby across from them. As they all settled a waitress dress in an apron and vintage uniform came out from behind the countertop across from them.

“Evenin’ y’all, I’m Joyce. What can I do you for today?” Joyce greeted them as she passed out menus. Her accent was extraordinarily thick, and Blake didn’t recognise it at all.

Ruby started by ordering a strawberry milkshake while everyone else took a moment to look through the menu. They did indeed serve standard diner fare, although it seemed to be of higher quality and greater variety than an ordinary restaurant would have. Ultimately, everyone followed suit by getting their own milkshakes, Blake got blackberry, Weiss vanilla, and Yang salted caramel.

Weiss’ choice of flavor reminded Blake what a deviation from her ordinary color scheme she had made in her choice of dress. “So why aren’t you wearing white and blue like you usually do Weiss? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in something that isn’t primarily those colors.”

“I asked Coco to make the dress with black, purple, and pink because those are the sacred colors of Slaa’nthresh. Also, I think it looks damn good.” Weiss smiled proudly, then looked down at her thigh with surprise, then looked up at Yang. “Hello there.”

“Yay or nay?” Yang grinned seductively at Weiss.

“Very yay.” Weiss smiled and leaned to the side a little, resting her head on Yang’s shoulder.

Hesitantly, Blake looked over at Ruby next to them. They had to admit that her thighs looked very squishable in her thigh highs, but wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to make a move themself.

Ruby’s hand appearing on their thigh snapped Blake out of their indecision, followed closely as it was by her leaning into them. “This good?”

“Very good indeed.” Blake wrapped their arm around Ruby’s shoulders gratefully. It was challenging dating someone who was about two years younger than them sometimes, they really didn’t dare initiate anything more than cuddling or light kisses with her, but it was difficult sometimes because they found themself just as physically attracted to Ruby as they were to Weiss and Yang. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to have too many concerns asking them if it would be okay for them to touch each other more, so they had relied on her to advance things as she liked.

“Why a dress? I was expecting something more along the lines of a biker outfit or even a suit from you.” Weiss questioned Yang, though her eyes didn’t drift away from the cleavage hovering slightly to the side of her head.

“Oh, are you saying that you want to see me in leather?” Yang prodded Weiss in good humor before continuing. “In all seriousness though, even if I’m never gonna act like a lady, that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be treated like one sometimes.” 

Blake raised their eyebrows as an ear twitched against their will; Yang in leather was a thought indeed. 

Weiss giggled arily and affectionately ran her hands along Yang’s forearm. “Mmmm, big strong beautiful lady.” 

After a moment Weiss realized that all of her partners were staring at her in shock. “Oh, I apologize. What I meant to say was ‘it’s not like I like you or anything idiot.’ Happy?” She groused.

“No, no, I was very happy that you said what you said originally, just surprised as well.” Blake smiled apologetically at Weiss. They were proud of her.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s kinda gross that you said it to Yang, but also really cute to see you being sweet with your words!” Ruby praised Weiss.

“Good, better get used to it, because when I set my mind on something you know that I do it, and I’ve set my mind on being more verbally affectionate.” Weiss threatened as she settled back down into her position of being snuggled into Yang’s side.

There was a brief interlude as Joyce brought them their milkshakes and took their entree orders. Her professional grace was truly impressive, she was unfazed by the thoroughly overdressed state of her patrons. Blake decided to get a hamburger that was stuffed with cheese and topped with an assortment of ingredients they both had and had not heard of before.

“You didn’t get any fish?” Ruby stared up at Blake, silver orbs brimming with curiosity.

“Like I said the other night, seafood is usually something that I have when I feel homesick. But right now, with the three of you, I am home.” Blake ruffled Ruby’s hair affectionately. Between reconnecting with their parents, getting three beautiful girlfriends, and managing to open up just a little about some of the things they’d gone through they felt as good as they had in years. The last time that they’d been this confident and happy with the way their life was going had been when Adam had approached them about their no doubt very obvious juvenile crush on him. Though of course none of the events that had followed that made for an apt comparison.

“Awwww, yay. I’m really glad you feel that way.” Ruby stretched herself upward and gave Blake a peck on the cheek, then on the lips as they turned their head to face her. 

Weiss smiled at Blake and leaned forward, taking a sip of her milkshake. Her expression then morphed into one of deviousness as she was struck by an idea. “Say Blake, why don’t you give me a taste of your milkshake and I’ll share some of mine?”

“And I’m guessing that when you say that you mean that we’d be mixing the two?” Blake raised an eyebrow with faux disdain.

“Indeed I do.” Weiss wriggled her snow white eyebrows seductively in turn. How was it even possible to wriggle eyebrows seductively? Blake didn’t know, but Weiss still pulled it off. Maybe it was just because she was that sweet, once you knew how to see past her thorns.

Obligingly, Blake took a medium sized sip of their milkshake as Weiss did the same, savouring it for a moment as they appreciated it. It was the best milkshake they had ever had, and it probably wasn’t just the other experiences of the night coloring that opinion. Then they leaned forward and locked lips with her, carefully sharing the milkshake. A little bit trickled down the side of their cheek as they pulled back with a mouthful of vanilla and blackberries and Weiss. 

Blake swallowed. “Mmmmm, vanilla Weisscream, good stuff.”

“And I got some tasty Blakeberry that pleasured my palate.” Weiss swallowed with an expression that seemed to imply swallowing something other than ice cream.

“Damn you two, how is it even legal to be this adorable and yet this hot at the same time?” Yang wiped sweat that may or may not have been real off of her brow. 

“Hey, Blake, you missed a little.” With only that comment as a warning, Ruby leaned in and licked the small trickle that had run down Blake’s cheek, trailing her tongue along it and stopping just at the corner of their mouth.

Across the booth Weiss fanned herself and looked generally stunned, in a pleasant way. “We certainly all get along well, don’t we?”

“It makes sense, considering that we all confessed our love for each other, um, wow that was only five days ago wasn’t it?” Yang was staring off into the distance in wonder. 

“It really is insane, isn’t it? The ex-partner of the current Grand High Leader of the you-know-what, a soon to be disgraced heiress, a wild blonde badass, and the most empathetic, caring woman I have ever met all got launched into the Emerald Forest in just the right way such that we ended up forming the strangest, most loving team imaginable.” Blake shook their head in wonder.

“Soon to be disgraced heiress? I like it, it’s ominous, yet dignified” Weiss nodded approvingly.

“Man, and to think that a week ago all of Vale was teetering on the brink of destruction.” Ruby had gotten caught in the mood as well, whatever it was.

“Ahm, I’m not supposed to react to the things customers say, but did you just say that all of Vale was teetering on the brink of destruction a week ago?” Joyce’s serving platter wobbled slightly in her hand as she set it down.

“What? No, no-no-n-yes.” Ruby squeaked as everyone looked at her. “I’m sorry, I’m a bad liar.”

“Don’t worry about it, it teetered the way of not getting destroyed, so it’s fine.” Blake gave the poor woman a thumbs up and their best winning smile.

Joyce took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. “Okay, I suppose that Beacon students would know.”

Once they had been served Joyce left as if nothing had happened, which prompted Weiss to mutter almost conspiratorially. “Don’t mention that that happened at any point, places like this take slip-ups very seriously and I’d rather not make her lose her job.”

Nodding, Blake dug into their food, which was the best burger they had ever had, and that was most certainly not just a result of the emotional highs of the evening. It was insanely juicy and perfectly seasoned and topped with condiments. Everyone seemed to hold similar opinions about their own orders as well, because the conversation came crashing to a comfortable silence and they collectively dug in, suddenly realizing that none of them had eaten since lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, plans for the long term future are that there's probably one more chapter in this arc, and after that there's going to be a minor arc with some action happening, then a few more chapters of fluff, Ruby's birthdayween, more fluff, and then we're going to get into the two weeks of finals. We're maybe halfway to the beginning of the practical exam arc and past 50k words! This is so exciting, I have so many brilliant ideas planned that I'm so excited to put onto metaphorical paper


	22. Very Date, Much Romance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like freezerburn. Weiss and Yang have especially good chemistry as they turned out in this story

_I want her everywhere  
And if she's beside me I know I need never care  
But to love her is to need her everywhere  
Knowing that love is to share  
Each one believing that love never dies  
Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there_

_I will be there  
And everywhere  
Here, there and everywhere_  
-The Beatles, Here, There, and Everywhere

Yang was having trouble deciding what to do with her hands. On one hand, she loved that she was being allowed to caress Weiss’ soft thigh as they sat in the diner, on the other, she really did need both hands to eat her hamburger with the gusto it deserved. As much as she loved hearty eating, she just couldn’t bring herself to let go of her girlfriend. Maybe it was the way that Weiss cutely squirmed a little every so often as Yang drummed her fingers and rubbed her thumb gently along the outer side of Weiss’ thigh, maybe it was the little smiles of affirmation that she flashed Yang to reassure her that it was welcome. Maybe it was the way that Weiss’ thighs squished even more jucily than the hamburger before her. 

And the way that she had shared her milkshake with Blake? Incredible. Yang knew that rushing things was a bad idea, and was perfectly happy to let both of them take the time to work out whatever issues they no doubt needed to work out before they had sex, but damn if she wasn’t fully prepared to hit that the minute it was on the table, or bent over a table.

“What’s going on in that empty head of yours.” Blake quirked an eyebrow at Yang, and she realized that she had been staring at them.

“Nothing much, just thirsty.” Yang pointedly took a sip of her milkshake, as if that was what she was thirsty for.

“You always told me that you should just be drinking water if you’re thirsty because sugary things won’t really hydrate you.” Ruby looked as if a part of her world had fallen apart. She really was just too innocent a baby sister sometimes, though no doubt her being somewhere on the asexual spectrum had an effect on that.

“It’s true Rubes, I just don’t have any water on hand right now. I’m making bad decisions with the full knowledge that they’re bad.” It really was true, but it still felt like Yang was lying through her teeth. It was necessary though, lest Ruby realise that some of the other things she’d told her over the years so that she’d take better care of herself actually were lies.

“So then, what you’re saying, is that you, Yang Xaio Long, are being a _bad girl?_ ” Blake smirked flirtatiously at Yang.

“ B-b-b-bad to the bone, always have been, always will be.” Yang met Blake’s challenge head on, and they simply stared back at her haughtily, letting the silence do the talking that neither of them actually meant anything by, but still wouldn’t want to say in front of Ruby. 

“My, we are even more spicy than usual tonight aren’t we?” Weiss casually observed the insanity with a discerning and pleased eye. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“We did come here so that we could cut loose and date each other in public. Really might as well just let how secretly crazy we all are hang loose.” Yang shrugged. 

“I’m pretty sure that our entire class is aware that we’re all crazy at this point.”

“Anyone who goes to a huntsman academy has to be crazy, they’re all just better at hiding it. After all, being a hunter means putting other people’s lives first, that’s a pretty crazy thing to do.” Blake pondered.

“Jaune isn’t crazy, he’s super normal.” Ruby interjected with a pout.

“He’s crazy nice, and he chooses to hang out with us. At the very least he’s an honorary crazy person.” 

“That actually does kind of make sense.” Ruby’s pout ended. “Does this mean that we’re all going to end up in a circle around him chanting ‘one of us’ next time we see him?”

“That’s a great idea. I’ll get Ren and Nora in on it.” Yang gave her sister a thumbs up.

“I suppose that I could be bribed to participate in something as ridiculous as that with kisses.” Weiss pretended not to like the idea. 

“Oh yeah? How many, where, when, and what kind?” 

Rather than say it out loud, Weiss gestured for Yang to lean in close and whispered in her ear. “All of them, anywhere on my body that isn’t covered by this dress, when we have some privacy, and with tongue, respectively.” 

“Wow. That wasn’t even what I meant by where.” Yang stared at Weiss with wide eyes. “You’ve uh, got yourself a deal.” Yesyesyesyesyes. Weiss was so soft and pretty and sexy and strong and wow she should finish eating so that they could all go home whenever they felt like it. 

As Yang dug into her food with renewed gusto, Blake made their own fake aside to Ruby. “So which of them do you think is more useless?”

“Tonight it’s clearly been Yang, but I’m interested to see how their careers progress. After all, before tonight I would have said Weiss, but she’s become incredibly confident all of a sudden.” Ruby fake whispered back conspiratorially. “I’m proud of you for it snowflake, even though I probably wouldn’t be proud of whatever you said to Yang.” 

“I am a Schnee, it was only a matter of time before I regained the confidence to seek the things I desire. And as it turns out, an expert makeup job, fabulous made dress, helpful wig, and the loves of my life are more than enough to kick start that process.” Weiss’ comment sent all three other people at the table aflame with a happiness that caused them to avert their eyes in embarrassment.

“I feel like I should officially take back what I said earlier about you not being able to flirt.” Yang was astonished that such a simple confession could affect her so much.

“But I wasn’t flirting, I’m just being honest.” Weiss looked around her in confusion.

“Even so, what you said before that is more than enough.” Yang put up her hands in surrender. “Just please, no more for tonight lest my heart explode because of how amazing you are.”

“Very well, I suppose that I shall show mercy for now.” Bright blue eyes stared cooly at Yang as Weiss returned to her dinner. “It appears that I was so distracted I’ve let my food get lukewarm, oh well. We had best finish eating and go home before Yang’s heart explodes.” Apparently, her brand of mercy was getting everyone home a little bit more quickly, which Yang appreciated a great deal.

When Joyce inevitably came to collect their plates they all thanked her and walked out hand in hand through the hallways of the fake office building with bright smiles and raucous happiness. A resounding success of a date.

On the way out of the door Yang had to turn to Junior again. “Hey Junior, sorry again, but we’re getting provisional licenses soon, how much do I owe you?” 

Junior sighed and shook his head. “More than you can make with a provisional license. Don’t worry about it, just don’t let me see you again either.”

Back in the car Yang ended up sitting next to Blake across from Weiss and Ruby. It felt like a good opportunity for something she’d been thinking about all night.

“So Blake, can I ask you a question that I’m nervous about asking because it might be insensitive?” Yang looked at Blake nervously.

“Sure.” They shrugged. “I trust you to be asking in good faith.”

“What’s up with your chest being flat?”

“I just felt like wearing a binder today. Most days I don’t.” Blake shrugged.

“Oh. Huh. And a binder is what the thing that’s making your chest flat is called?” Yang wasn’t really sure what to do with the information now that she had it. She felt kind of awkward about it.

Blake laughed briefly. “That’s right. Sorry, I hadn’t considered that people who don’t know what a binder is in the context of being trans exist.”

“There’s gotta be a word for forgetting that people who lack your specialized knowledge exist.” Yang pondered. “I’ve got nothing though.”

“I’m sure there is, though there’s something else I’m much more invested in knowing.” Blake leaned in conspiratorially. “Am I getting a bribe of my own?”

“Hell yeah.” Yang closed the remaining distance between them and kissed Blake, firmly and slowly, letting herself savor their lips after a wonderful date. They smirked at her as they separated.

“I don’t think I’m quite bribed enough yet, I’m kissing you this time.” Blake was the one who initiated this time, aggressively pressing themself against Yang, pulling her into their arms this time. There was no tongue, but they were clearly done holding themself back as they physically grabbed onto her hair to keep her in place. 

Yang, for her part, kissed back eagerly. A few little whimpers slipped out of her. She had never expected Blake to lose their cool like this, they felt almost feral as they held her tight. It was without a doubt the hottest kiss they’d shared yet.

With a sigh Blake pulled back, though they still stared hungrily at Yang.

“Have I ever told you that I love your ears? They’re very triangular. Big fan.” The ears in question wriggled cutely as Blake burst out laughing in response to Yang’s comment. Not a chuckle, a full blown belly laugh that shook their entire body, the kind she had never seen them do before.

“What on Remnant kind of response is that? I’ve fallen in love with a madwoman.” A single tear of mirth was wiped aside as Blake stared at Yang expectantly.

“Excuse you.” Weiss butted in. “I’ll have you know that Ruby and I are thoroughly mad as well!”

“I don’t know, you were just very intimidating and hot and I said the first thing that popped into my head.” Yang tried to stare at the wall in abashment, but the car was small enough that she could only see people in any direction she looked.

“Yes, of course, three madwomen, I apologize. And Yang, I think I like it when you get flustered.” Blake smiled down at Yang.

“And I think I like it when you grab my hair like that, as long as you don’t pull any out.” Yang was more than a little bit taken aback by her own realization. She was so used to taking control of both fights and romantic situations that she had never really considered alternatives.

A mild tone sounded, signaling that they’d reached the airship docks. Everyone made their way out in a hurry, anticipating their return to Beacon, the place that had made itself their home. 

The airship was slightly crowded, and as a result conversation was somewhat stifled by the presence of others. Light flirting, brief kisses, and handholding were the limits of the circumstance as they all awaited a return to sweet privacy. It drew a few eyes, but the other people on the airship were mostly concerned with their own friends, or lack thereof.

Once they had reached their destination and left the docks behind, Weiss suggested that Blake and Ruby spend some time in the gardens so that she could have some alone time with Yang in their dorm, assuring them that said alone time would not involve sex. 

“So then you were serious about what you said before?” Yang looked at Weiss with something approaching awe.

“I know what I want, and tonight what I want is to have you all over me.” Weiss grinned, crooking her finger in a come hither motion, Yang hadn’t seen her this confident in what felt like a while, sure she usually had at least a facade of confidence that was good enough to work on anyone outside of the team, but this was the real thing.

“Wow. Okay, hell yeah.” Yang liked this new attitude from Weiss.

“Good. Let’s hurry then.” Weiss grabbed Yang by the hand and started actively pulling her to their dorm, something that she had no objection to.

Yang jumped Weiss the moment that they were both inside, pushing her up against the now closed door as she lifted the heiress by her arms and pinned her against the wall with an intense kiss. Their tongues rubbed roughly against each other as they tried to bring themselves as close as possible before Yang pulled herself back just a little. “This good?”

Weiss nodded, biting the bottom of her lip as she stared at Yang with wide eyes, her chest heaving. “Fuck yes. I’ve always dreamed about getting pushed up against a wall.”

“Good.” Yang plunged forward and went back to making out with Weiss, who in turn wrapped her legs around Yang’s waist, freeing her hands to run up along Weiss’ arms and grab onto her wrists, pinning them against the wall as her body held the rest of Weiss in place. Muffled moans confirmed that Weiss was enjoying herself, and in response Yang moved from sloppily making out with her to trailing wet kisses along her neck. She wanted to hear Weiss vocalize.

“Yaaaang-ah!” Weiss’ attempt to speak turned into a whimper of pleasure as Yang latched onto her pulse point and started to make a hickey. “Fuck, Yang. Have I gotten the chance to tell you how incredibly beautiful you a-ahhh are tonight?”

Rather than answer right away, Yang lapped comfortingly at the large hickey she had just left for a moment. “No, you have not. However, I think it’s time that I showed you how incredibly beautiful you are.” She pulled them off of the door and made her way to the bed, where she deposited Weiss.

“Gods this is hot.” Weiss’ wig was slightly out of place and one of her breast forms was riding comically high up her chest, giving her a slightly disheveled look that Yang found even hotter than before. The temptation to jump on Weiss and pin her down and make out more was very strong.

Instead, Yang gently took hold of Weiss’ right hand and brought it before her as she took a seat on the bed next to her. “Your hands are beautiful, soft, gentle, powerful, and precise. Their touch is like the breath of a butterfly on my soul.” Then she lightly kissed each of Weiss’ fingers, followed by her palm.

“What’s this that you’re doing?”

“You told me that you wanted me to kiss you everywhere that wasn’t covered by your dress, and that’s what I intend to do.” Yang moved on to Weiss’ arm, running her hands along their subtle musculature. “Your arms are beautiful, strong, refined, graceful, and powerful. The grace with which you wield Myrtenaster has pierced my heart.”

At this point the wide smile on Weiss’ face was more than enough to motivate Yang to keep going to her shoulders.

“Your shoulders are beautiful, tenacious, enduring, and strong. The things you bear on them are a great gift to the world.” Yang ran her hands over Weiss’ shoulders, rubbing and kissing them and feeling the muscles within relaxing under her touch. When she pulled away Weiss groaned in complaint.

“Tsk tsk. I still have so much ground to cover.” Yang got off of the bed and took a seat on the floor, looking up at Weiss as she took hold of a leg and trailed her gaze down to the foot. “Your feet are beautiful, soft, agile, and graceful. I want you to step on me.”She peppered kisses along Weiss’ instep, gave each toe a kiss and then trailed kisses across the top of her foot.

“Are you actually only doing this because you have a thing for feet?” 

“I don’t know if I even have a thing for feet in the first place.” Yang had mostly meant it in a ‘step on me hot evil lady’ kind of way, but Weiss’ feet _were_ very cute. Out of nowhere she wondered what Blake’s feet were like. Probably because of morbid curiosity. “Do you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Huh, well anyway...” Yang moved upward, turning her attention to Wiess’ legs. She ran kisses all along Weiss’ shins, then the back of her legs, and then she worked her way round her thighs, careful not to go too high or look upward at the wrong angle. “I’m sort of running out of things to say, but your legs are beautiful from top to bottom, and I look forward to someday maybe having my head between your lovely thighs.” 

“Gods Yang.” Weiss pulled Yang up to her level on the bed and hugged her tight. “Thank you so much, it means a lot to me to hear you say things like that.”

“Well it means a lot to me to see you happy and help you feel good about yourself, so we’re even.” Yang hugged Weiss back and pulled her down into spooning on the bed. They stayed like that for a long while, when they came back Blake and Ruby joined them in another group cuddle that definitively determined their date to be a success.


	23. Provisional Exams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! We get some Zwei in this arc!

_Deceive the darkness, dodge this moment  
Slip your blade through the enemy’s opening, and attack their weakness  
These steady beliefs will open up the future  
Like a Bloody Storm, hot, Like a Bloody Stone  
With this destiny carved through with blood,  
tightly grasp these rising, eternal bonds of pride_  
-Coda, Bloody Stream

On the day after their first big date Weiss insisted on a lengthy study session.

“Provisional licensing exams are coming up and the word is that they’re going to be significantly more selective than last year. There are even people who are going to come in from other kingdoms and attempt it because they already failed theirs. With a veritable war with the White Fang looming we need to do everything we can to prepare ourselves.” Weiss insisted that they all spend large portions of the remaining weekend and upcoming week preparing, and skipping the next date night as well.

“But Weiss, we were going to go on a date Tuesday, I was really looking forward to it.” Ruby couldn’t help whining about the strict schedule. 

“And if we end up failing the test we’ll be relegated to taking the remedial course, which will mean three weeks in which we will lack the time for dates.” Weiss stopped pacing as she lectured and instead came up to give Ruby a hug. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to make it up to you, but you can do this Ruby, your executive function has gotten so much better than it was when we first met.” 

“Really?” Ruby knew that when Weiss said something good about her study skills she meant it, and it was enough to make her heart flutter happily. “Well, I guess you could make it up to me by praising me when I do well today.”

“That is an interesting request. Perhaps I should make such positive reinforcement a general habit, would you like that? Do consider that it would probably create a pavlovian response in which studying causes you to experience the feelings you do when I compliment you.” Weiss smiled encouragingly.

Ruby gulped. That actually sounded incredibly... interesting? She felt the need to fan herself with her hand, so she did. “Um, yes please.” Her voice squeaked awkwardly as she said it. Then she buried her face against Weiss’ shoulder in embarrassment.

“Interesting, I do appear to have awakened something.” Weiss chuckled and ran her hands through Ruby’s hair comfortingly. 

“Okay, let’s hurry the fuck up and study so that we can get back to fucking around, metaphorically speaking!” Yang cut in as if she didn't want to think about the current conversation anymore.

They spent the rest of the day either studying, training, or taking short breaks to relax in between. Weiss’ generous praise was more than enough for Ruby to stay focused on the tasks at hand, and by the end of the day she felt an even stronger desire to cuddle Weiss to sleep than usual, due to both tiredness and affection.

The next day was primarily spent in Professor Port’s class reviewing the new procedures and rules for the revised provisional licensing exams. It turned out that combat trained pets were allowed, so Ruby asked Tai to mail Zwei back over for the exam once classes were out. 

Strangely, the format of the test was being kept a secret, but the list of things that would be assessed included survival skills, combat skills, stealth, and anti-personnel combat. Exams for students in their second, third, and fourth years even included urban warfare, triage, search and rescue, and evacuation oversight. It was an uncomfortable reminder of just how close skills like that had been to becoming necessary for everyone at Beacon. 

The rest of the week was spent reviewing relevant materials and reminding everyone that it was essential to get the license, and if they also failed the remedial classes they would fail the practical portion of the final exam. During practical finals they would be accompanied by licensed hunters who weren’t professors, meaning that a license of their own was required. Once they had the license they would be able to accept missions with expected durations of less than twelve hours without any supervision, and up to a week with it.

Finally, Friday reared its ominous head, and the morning began with an excited early morning wake-up call from Zwei’s tongue, which had arrived the day before along with Zwei himself. 

“Ahhahaha Zwei!” Ruby pulled the energetic corgi off her face and grinned. The greedy little guy had ended up smack dab in the middle of the team cuddle pile last night, between Ruby and Weiss. 

“No Zwei, faces are friends, not food.” Blake took Zwei away from Ruby and kept him for themself. “Who’s a good boy? You are!” 

Soon enough however, it was time to get out of bed and hurriedly eat their breakfasts and rush to the docks, where a large assortment of bullheads and a crowd waited for the exams to begin. At precisely eight in the morning, Ozpin made his way onto a platform raised slightly above the crowd in front of the fleet of ships.

“Good morning students of Beacon, Shade, Haven, and Atlas, some of you have heard rumors of the ways in which we have changed these exams at the last minute, and others have most likely experienced it by now, but to begin with we will be eliminating half of all applicants. These bullheads will take you to random locations in the Emerald Forest, your objective is then to defeat one other team. A team is considered to be eliminated when all of its members have had their aura broken. In other words, fights will not necessarily end when one person’s aura is broken. As a result we have a large number of medivacs standing by and teams will be evacuated within three minutes of their victory or defeat. That is all, please make your ways to the bullheads.”

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting the Thunderdome.” Yang stared at Ozpin as he walked away.

“This is less than ideal. We lack semblances that would be useful for stealth or scouting, though I have no doubt that Zwei will be a great boon.” Weiss contemplated as they began to make their way for an empty bullhead.

“Right, we should keep Zwei near us and keep an eye out for sneak attacks. It’s far more likely that we get attacked than that we find an opportunity to initiate without any stealth semblances. If we stay stationary at our drop location we can avoid letting anyone pick up our trail and tracking us, in other words, defensive tactics. It might be best to take up positions in the trees and then deliberately leave behind a mess for someone to investigate. We need to do whatever we can to avoid being noticed from a distance because we all fight best at closer ranges. Fights themselves are probably going to be tricky because we don’t have a means to safely disable people after taking out their aura. We’re going to have to use rope, which means that Yang is going to need to be the one to deal with aura broken opponents, she should be able to overpower most targets and wrestle them to the ground. Therefore we should try to stick to fighting as a team and support Yang when we can.” Ruby went over her initial thoughts on strategy as they boarded and started moving out in the bullhead. “Anything else?”

“I have lots of experience with tying people’s hands behind their backs, I got my end.” Yang winked at Blake and Weiss, who both blushed in response.

“How much can Zwei fight exactly? I don’t really feel like I saw much of his skills at Mountain Glenn.” Weiss was taking her turn to hold Zwei and pet him.

“He mostly bites ankles and headbutts with aura strikes. He’s great at tripping people up, so once someone’s aura breaks we should direct him to that person to unbalance them and let Yang follow up. Or if someone with a broken aura is too slippery... it’s kind of cruel but if Zwei bit them and just... maintained that bite, that should change their minds quickly enough without risking serious injury. He knows how. I’d really hate to, but we have to use everything we’ve got here. I’m not missing three weeks of dates.” Ruby frowned in grim determination.

“I’ve created a monster.” Weiss smiled. “Don’t worry Ruby, I’m sure we’ll figure something else out if we have trouble.”

“Hopefully.” Ruby sighed.

They reached their destination shortly afterward, a spot in the forest that was just as densely wooded as the rest, and dropped cleanly onto the ground. Zwei signaled that there were no people nearby. From there they walked about a thousand meters and then carefully climbed into the treetops. Then they made their way back to about the halfway point along their previous path and took up a standard ring formation. Near enough to react to and see each other, but far apart enough that if someone on the ground below saw them the other three would probably be outside of their field of view. 

Then they waited.

It took an hour for anything to happen. The first sign was Zwei, who sat in Ruby’s lap and silently bobbed his head to the north, twice. It was a signal that indicated an unknown number of people coming towards them from that direction.

Ruby used hand signals to reposition everyone more favorably with their directional knowledge and they waited again breaths practically held. If the people Zwei had scented were moving at a normal walking pace, based on the wind, it would only take about two minutes for them to arrive if they kept moving in the same direction.

Four minutes after Zwei’s signal, Ruby heard the first telling sound of someone stepping on a patch of fallen leaves. It came from the north. These people were following the tracks that they had left behind. They should have no notion that a team may be hiding in the treetops.

Except that if there were multiple people why had Ruby only heard sound from them once. They either should or should not have the skills to avoid making noise as they traveled in this environment. Slowly, carefully, she turned her head and looked behind her. Slight motions betrayed the presence of three patches of color making their way towards them, though it seemed like they were still searching for their exact location.

With her body obscuring her hands from the people behind her, Ruby signed for them to stay absolutely still, but three members of the team approaching them were behind them. So long as she remained motionless it would be much more difficult for them to see her than it was for her to see them. Ruby thought quickly. If they had sent in a distraction to ensure that they were facing the wrong direction from a distance, that distraction was either bait to lure them in, or a long range fighter, depending on the reaction expected of them.

These strangers had somehow determined team RWBY’s general location, then circled around to create an opportunity for a surprise attack. They most likely came to the correct conclusion that because they were stationary, none of them had a stealth semblance. Without a stealth semblance, charging forward to investigate a target that had made noise would be incredibly dangerous, therefore they wanted the four of them to stay still. They should charge the distraction.

Subtly, Ruby pointed in the direction of the sound, and Zwei confirmed that there was still someone there with a flick of his tongue. So, she signed for everyone to charge that direction after a countdown, giving Zwei the order to lead them to the person in question. Slowly, she counted down, and when she reached zero all four of them jumped from their perches and hit the ground running, with Zwei zooming off in the lead.

As Ruby had suspected, a projectile came flying at Yang from their target’s direction, but she simply deflected it with Ember Celica. 

Heavy footsteps began to come for them from behind, but taken by surprise as they were, the other team was far enough behind that they couldn’t take shots between the trunks of trees. Zwei barreled ahead, and after running about thirty yards with RWBY close behind him he tackled a skinny blonde guy in a purple two-piece suit to the ground. His combination poleaxe and sniper rifle flew a few feet to his side, now in its poleaxe form. 

Zwei followed up his tackle by taking a few steps back, waiting and watching for an opportunity to throw the guy off of his balance. He tried once before Yang got to him, but was knocked back down by another powerful aura infused blow. 

Yang piled on top of the blonde guy with a jumping punch to his gut and started to pummel him and get his aura down. 

As she did Ruby, Blake, and Weiss turned around and had a brief moment to size up the rest of their opponents. There was a girl with green hair done in two buns wearing a matching spider web patterned skirt and jacket who wielded a shortsword and left her other hand empty. A very large and buff man wearing black pants and a jacket with a green shirt wore a pair of gauntlets not entirely different from Ember Celica, though they appeared much heavier in nature. And lastly, the man who looked like their leader had messy brown hair and wore jeans and a t-shirt with a yellow and purple headband while wielding a pair of daggers. His abs were somehow even more obvious than Sun’s.

“You thought that you outsmarted us, but I outsmarted your outsmarting!” The leader laughed. “Now Irene!”

On the leader’s command Irene, the green-haired girl, pulled on something that Ruby couldn’t make out and suddenly a net made out of aura appeared below the three people not beating on the blond guy, lifting them into the air in an awkward bunch before they could react. A moment after there was a shout from behind them as the blonde guy somehow drove Yang off of him.

“This guy can turn things into animals!” Yang shouted as she maneuvered to face the rest of the enemy team while the blond guy grabbed his weapon. 

For her position six feet above the ground Ruby could see the other three rapidly advancing on Yang. She waited until the last moment while Blake and Weiss struggled to somehow cut out of the threads of aura trapping them. Then she grabbed hold of both of them and activated her semblance, turning all three of them into a burst of red, white, and black rose petals that slipped through the holes in the net and landed directly behind the three advancing on Yang. 

In their moment of surprise each of them managed to get in a solid blow or two before their opponents were able to react. Once they turned around to face the larger number of opponents Yang was also able to throw in a punch before being targeted by the return of the guy with the poleaxe.

Leaving Yang to fight someone with that kind of reach would be a problem. 

“Freezerburn! Zwei, harass Knives! Blake, defend then handle Blondie!” Ruby shouted her instructions. Using freezerburn in these close quarters was risky, but that poleaxe was so long ranged that the reduced visibility would make it much less effective a weapon.

As she gave the orders Weiss took two steps back and slammed her sword into the ground. Zwei kept Knives distracted enough that he was barely able to attack back due to the short reach of his weapons compared to the low height of his attacker. Blake managed to get Irene’s sword stuck in an ice dust clone. 

Even with all of that, Ruby and Blake were barely able to hold back the intense assault from the buff gauntleted man. His blows came so quickly that they were slightly blurred, most likely the result of a speed semblance. They were incredibly heavy as well, each time she blocked with her scythe Ruby had to grit her teeth to keep her footing. He would easily be able to overpower any one of them in close combat.

The creeping ice from Weiss formed quickly though, and even though Yang was outside of everyone’s field of view she landed her explosive blow perfectly, creating a fog that Blake used as cover to leap over the buff one’s head and no doubt challenge Blondie. 

“Kite Gauntlets, save him for last!” Ruby had noticed that the large man’s semblance seemed to only affect his arms, meaning that her team was likely capable of outmaneuvering him until he was fighting four to one. She then skirted away from Gauntlets and targeted Knives. She also saw Weiss move onto Irene.

Ruby and Zwei teamed up on Knives in the fog, weaving their way around him together in order to hopefully avoid Gauntlets as well as move deeper into the fog for cover. His twin daggers were poorly suited for fighting opponents at two different heights simultaneously and they managed to chip away steadily at his aura while taking hardly any blows themselves. It worried her that she couldn’t see any of her other teammates through the fog either, but if they were having difficulty they would call for assistance, which meant the fight was going well.

As the fog was beginning to clear Yang’s voice shouted. “Blondie restrained and aura broken!” Shortly thereafter she let out a shout as Ruby could distantly make out that Gauntlets had managed to land a blow on her while she restrained her target. 

With Blondie down though Blake was able to come help Ruby against Knives and they quickly finished him, overwhelming him with three fast opponents as he took a knee with a broken aura even as he laughed. “Your next line is ‘keep avoiding Gauntlets!’”

“Keep-what?” Was all Ruby had time to say before a heavy blow to her side sent her flying into a nearby tree, where she was stunned for a few moments. 

After taking care of Ruby, Gauntlets turned and started making his way towards Weiss at an ominous slow speed. Weiss appeared to have thread wrapped around Myrtenaster as she struggled to keep it in her hands. 

In response Blake boosted herself forward with a clone and cleanly severed the string that was holding onto the rapier, leading to both of them turning on Irene. 

Ruby hurried to shake off her pain and got up, running at Gauntlets from behind and hooked her scythe around his foot at the same time that Zwei headbutted the back of his knee, sweeping a single foot out from under him and giving Yang an opportunity to knock him onto the ground with a shotgun enhanced punch. Then they hurried to gang up on Irene before Gauntlets got back up.

The five of them made short work of the girl and turned to the last remaining opponent, who was now charging at them.

“Ice flower!” Ruby shouted and stepped back, digging the blade of Crescent Rose into the ground as Weiss summoned her ice glyphs.

In the time that it took to prepare Zwei, Yang, and Blake clashed with Gauntlets, their combined might matched him in both speed and power for long enough for Ruby to take her shots, forming a heavy chunk of ice on first his fists, then encasing his shoulders in ice, and then landing multiple shots on his undefended torso.

With that his aura flickered and fell, ending their fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes it is


	24. Interlude: Hatred

_I saw them all around today  
They don't stop they won't go away  
They love the darkness in my eyes  
Help me find a way out when I'm lost within myself_

_They show me everything I need  
There's nothing wrong with a little greed  
Never enough to satisfy  
Such a driving desire that burns inside_

_My life came with it's own scars  
I don't need you to tell me about your sorrow  
I can't say I've seen it all  
But I live for the things that keep me hollow_

_Everyday I look into the mirror  
Staring back I look less familiar  
I've seen all seven faces  
Each one looks a lot like me_  
-Slayer, Seven Faces

“Enough, enough!” Salem glared at Cinder as the girl collapsed, multiple third degree burns covering her hands and her chest. Shaking her head, she walked up and started to heal, carefully holding her hands above burnt flesh and nerve endings as they knit back together. “How many times must I tell you to release your hubris? Magic does not allow you to control the reality around you, it allows you to _shape_ it. Electricity, like many things, will take the path of least resistance, you cannot force it to travel as you wish, you must create its path through your body and allow it to flow naturally.”

“I am just as aware of this as I was the last twenty times that you told me.” Cinder said it through gritted teeth.

Salem sighed. She really had no idea what she was doing. It had been so long since she had taught a new student magic. An entirely different lifetime, whose memories seemed to only ever resurface in the worst of her nightmares. All she had of it was vague inklings of happiness and the notion that somewhere in the world there was something that she had wanted to protect once. Maybe that was why she found herself flinching internally at the pain Cinder was going through in attempting to learn to control lightning.

Once the last of the damage was healed Salem pulled Cinder to her feet. “This is clearly not working. We are taking a break.” She turned to a nearby seer. “Hazel, if you would be so kind as to make us some tea?”

“Right away, my queen.” Hazel’s image bowed and walked off screen. 

“Salem, are you somehow unwell?” Cinder looked almost concerned.

“Whatever could give you that impression?” Salem raised a single black eyebrow.

“I’ve never seen you politely ask for something of someone before. Not without a tone of voice that implies it’s actually a threat.” 

“Hazel responds well to positive reinforcement. You have simply spent far too much time avoiding me in the past.” Salem lied. There was something very wrong with her, with these half-forgotten memories that she felt straining at the edges of her mind as she trained Cinder. Memories of peaceful kingdoms and a kind young woman with bright silver eyes. Similar to the silver eyed woman that seemed to haunt her every move in the great game of late, even from beyond the grave.

“Sometimes I wonder whether everything you do is only an act meant to mystify me.” Cinder stared suspiciously at Salem as they walked indoors to the castle’s dining room.

“There is no true self Cinder, only the many faces we wear to appease the various people we must interact with. My behavior is never an act, I do as I please, and as benefits me most.”

“That’s a non-answer.” 

“Indeed.” Salem took a seat and gestured for Cinder to do the same. “But enough of your deflection, it is time we discussed you. Your difficulty is not one born of a lack of skill, nor by incompetence.”

“Then why can’t I do this?”

“You lack self-control. It was inevitable that we would reach this obstacle. You still allow your hatred to rule you. Hatred is a means to an end, nothing more. If you truly desire to put an end to the people responsible for the circumstances of your birth, you must let it go. Act not because you hate, hate because you must act, and put that hate aside when it would hamper you in your quest.”

“So, what? You’re saying that I need to find inner peace?”

“You cannot understand or control the world without if you cannot understand or control the world within. Magic is a fickle thing, it is as volatile as any living thing. In a way it is all living things. It deserves respect, and you will never truly respect anything so long as you lack humility. You seek to end your shame with revenge, but as you are now revenge will do nothing for you.” 

“I have no shame, I’m one of the most powerful people in this world. I take pride in that.”

“Pride is not the opposite of shame but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame. Find that humility, and you will learn respect. Find that respect, and you will find a greater understanding and mastery of magic than ever before.”

“What the hell kind of nonsensical wise old man giving someone deep emotional advice kind of lecture is this?” Cinder angrily took a sip of tea.

“It is simply what is necessary. If you cannot grow stronger mentally, you cannot grow stronger in your mastery of magic.” Without further comment Salem got up and left, there was nothing more to be said, not yet.

Back in her private chambers Salem clenched her hand over her chest, memories resurfaced, fought, rebelled against her. She had trained others in magic once, she didn’t know why or when or where, but she had. And she had once felt something towards those others that she no longer knew how to identify, an aching, tearing, painful feeling, yet somehow a good one.

For the briefest of moments she remembered the reasons she had once wielded her own magic, and a choked sob wrenched itself from her. She needed to end these lessons quickly lest she remember more, couldn’t bear to end these lessons quickly in the hope that she might remember more.

Someone unfamiliar stared back at her from a mirror, someone with bluish green eyes, and fair skin. So she smashed the mirror, but she couldn’t smash her own barriers, the walls that hid her past, the past that came before the hatred, before she stopped being able to recognize her own face.

If not the personification of hatred, who was she?


	25. Behind Their Noble Birth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome back. Took a while for me to write this because work sucks and also I was reading cute gay light novels from the itch.io bundle for racial justice and equality. I Signed Up To Be The Substitute Familiar Of A Struggling Witch To Pay My Bills And I'm Just Now Realizing What I Got Myself Into is a masterpiece. Happy White Rose Week, we got extra white rose in this chapter
> 
> Completely unrelated information: Fox is a femboy
> 
> CW: mentions of past emotional abuse/trauma

_Beneath the noble birth  
Between the proudest words  
Behind the beauty, cracks appear  
Once with heads held high  
They sang out to the sky  
Why do their shadows bow in fear_  
-Rush, Between, Beneath, and Behind

While they waited for the ship that would take them all out of the forest, team RWBY had an amicable chat with the team that they had just fought.

“I’m Seph.” The dagger-weilding leader introduced everyone. “This is my brother Taro, my sister Irene, and our great-great-great-uncle Giorno.” Seph gestured to the buff guy, Irene, and the blonde boy respectively.

“How is your great-great-great-uncle about the same age as you?” Weiss was very confused about this bizarre family.

“Long story short, our great-great-great-grandfather’s mortal enemy’s disembodied head stole his body about a hundred and fifty years ago, then went into stasis until about twenty years ago. He then went to Mistral and had a kid before creating an evil castle in Vacuo that my dad, grandfather, and some of their friends had to storm to defeat him because his presence was slowly killing my aunt and in order to thwart his dreams of world domination. Giorno is that kid.” Seph shrugged.

“That must be the most convoluted family history that I’ve ever heard of.”

“We also have a half-great-uncle Ske who’s around our age because our grandfather cheated on his wife and he once killed a guy who looked just like David Bowie but was a serial killer with a hand fetish.” Irene supplied. “Although he actually changed faces once when they nearly caught him.”

“You know Weiss, I think we’ve done it. I think we found a family even weirder than we are.” Blake. “Hell, even weirder and messier than all of ours put together.”

“Yeah, that’s like, five families worth of bizarre.” Weiss nodded.

“You’re all related too?” Irene’s interest seemed piqued.

“We’re all dating, except Yang and Ruby, who are half-siblings.” Blake wrapped an arm casually around Weiss. 

“Alright! Here comes the bullhead!” Ruby shouted over the sound of an approaching airship. “I can’t wait for the rest of the exam.” 

“You four fought well, you deserve it.” Seph shook hands with Ruby. 

“We would have lost from the start if it wasn’t for Ruby’s semblance though. How’d you even predict things well enough to set up that trap?” Weiss had to know. 

“My semblance lets me take long distance photographs. I could see exactly where all of you were and what weapons you had. Beyond that, predicting my opponents’ actions is my specialty.” Seph stood up with a wink and accepted the hand of a medic as he climbed into the bullhead. “No one’s injured with more than a few bruises.”

Their chatter resumed once everybody was aboard the bullhead and headed back to Beacon. Taro was clearly the strong silent type, only shaking his head and muttering “good grief” whenever Seph did or said something silly for most of the trip. 

Once they parted with their new acquaintances, team RWBY were taken to a classroom, filled with desks separated at regulation distances and equipped with pencils. The rest of the exam was an actual exam. Weiss would later learn that that was the expected part, and that practical licensing exams were rare occurrences. 

“I’m pretty sure that I passed!” Ruby wasted no time in jumping into Weiss’ arms once they returned to their dorm. “Praise me?” Silvery puppy dog eyes stared up at her. 

It was almost certain that Weiss had accidentally awoken something in Ruby when she spent the past four days praising her for studying well. She had considered asking Ruby directly about this apparent new kink of hers, but didn’t really want to have any conversations like that until Halloween. 

“Good work Ruby, you’re such a great leader and you did really well at not holding back against those people.” Weiss sat down in a chair and set Ruby in her lap, then started scritching under her chin. 

When the scritching started Ruby’s eyes actually rolled back in her head as her tongue lolled. She looked so much like a puppy that Weiss giggled. 

“Weisssss, how are you so good at this?” If Ruby had had a tail it would probably be wagging. 

“Probably because of how much I love you, though it’s especially easy when you’ve been such a good girl. Yes you have.” Weiss intensified her scritching as she switched to a tone of voice that she would use with Zwei. 

The other dog in the room was not quite so happy as Ruby. Zwei whined gloomily as he stared out the window, not even looking at his companions. 

While Weiss took care of Ruby, Yang walked over to the window and sat down next to Zwei. “What’s wrong boy? Do you miss dad already?”

Zwei shook his head in the negative, prompting Yang to frown concernedly. Weiss frowned empathetically, even as she kept taking care of Ruby. 

“Are you worried about him?”

A single yip affirmed Yang’s worries, and she sighed. “Yeah, I was afraid he’d end up falling back into old habits. We should mail Zwei back sooner than later.” 

“Old habits?” Blake put down the book they had been reading in their bunk. They’d been spending some time there everyday, it seemed to help them relax. 

“There was a while when we were young that he just... couldn’t handle things anymore. We had to eat Qrow’s cooking for weeks in a row a few times. Eventually he started teaching at Signal, it’s good for him. He shouldn’t be too bad, but he needs someone to be around to motivate him to take care of himself.” 

“That’s a shame, I was looking forward to having Zwei with us a little longer.” Weiss pulled Ruby into her lap for a full body hug as she was brought down from her scritches by the discussion of her dad. 

“Dad needs him more than we do.” Ruby nodded solemnly. 

Weiss had some idea of what they meant that their father couldn’t handle things. Watching her mother slowly give up had been difficult. At least he could still function on his own. She’d spent the last seven years without a mother at all, just an empty shell. 

“Yeah, I’m sure he does.” Weiss surprised herself with the bitterness in her voice. She wasn’t sure who it was directed at. 

“We could keep him for another day or two?” Ruby shifted in Weiss’ arms, positioning herself as the one who was providing comfort. 

“No I-it’s not that. It just made me think about something else. My family.” Weiss hung her head and let herself sink into Ruby’s embrace. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Yang turned her attention away from Zwei. 

“N-“ Weiss paused in contemplation. She might as well open herself up, maybe it would help take away some of the sting, even if she wasn’t sure why there was a sting. “Actually yeah, I think I do.” 

Ruby entwined their fingers together, and Weiss squeezed gratefully.

“My mother has been something like that for about the past seven years now. At some point she just gave up, turned her back and wallowed in drink. Winter and I, we were old enough that we could have tried to do something, but when she did it it also meant that father’s attention was redirected away from her. Because she had stopped protecting us. Mostly he was focused on Winter, up until she joined the military. Every time I didn’t meet his expectations, every time I did something for myself, or something that he just happened to not approve of, he always made sure I was aware of his displeasure. Usually verbally. Sometimes mother was in his office when he called me in, but it was like she wasn’t there. He didn’t even acknowledge her presence, and she wouldn’t say anything. She just stood there and watched.” Weiss choked back a sob. Oh. She really hadn’t expected to realize that she was bothered by this, but then again she had been suppressing practically everything for years.

“It’s okay to cry.” Ruby squeezed her hands again and rested her chin on top of Weiss’ head. She didn’t think anyone had ever said that to her.

It took effort for Weiss to not reflexively distance herself from her emotions, she had to take a moment to concentrate on what she was feeling, remind herself that it was okay. It was somehow disappointing that only the slightest hints of tears appeared in the corners of her eyes as she continued in a painfully small voice. “Why? Why didn’t she ever do anything? Why didn’t she protect me?” She knew why, she knew the same deep and dreadful fear that had stopped her from ever rising to Whitley’s defense. But knowing and understanding are two different things, and accepting a third.

“Snowflake.” Blake muttered sadly as they slowly came up behind Weiss and rubbed her back, at a loss for words.

Weiss stood up from her slightly crowded position on a chair and flopped into bed instead, taking Ruby with her. Zwei hopped in as well and started licking her face. Yang and Blake joined the snuggle pile as Weiss kept looking for the words that failed her.

“All of that is behind me now, but whenever I think about those days, it’s just there. It keeps hurting and I don’t know what to do about it. What do I do?” Weiss knew that nobody in the room had an answer. So she just buried herself in her partners, focusing on them and reminding herself that she was safe now.

It took a few hours for Weiss to find the strength to get out of bed, so everyone agreed that it was best to scrounge together a dinner from their dorm rather than going into the crowded cafeteria. 

“Holy shit. Blake, Blake. BlakeBlakeBlake. I just realized something.” Yang announced as they all sat down at their small table with bowls of soup. 

“What?” Blake raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

“You’re nyan-binary.” Yang burst into a fit of laughing at her own joke, and Weiss stifled her smile at the last moment as she remembered that she had a competition with Yang about pretending not to enjoy her puns.

Blake let out a long-suffering sigh. “Yang, no. Just no.”

“Are you saying no to my puns, or are you saying it because it’s inappropriate for me to be making them about your ears? I will stop if it’s the latter.” Yang calmed herself down a little bit.

“Unfortunately for my continued sanity, it is the former.” Blake rolled their eyes. “I’m glad that you asked.”

“I feel like we’re forgetting something.” Ruby may not have even noticed Yang’s pun. 

“I forgot to add cheese to this stuff!” Yang got up and grabbed her extra sharp cheddar, preparing to add her usual pile of the stuff to her food. 

“No, I don’t think that’s what she meant.” Now that Ruby has mentioned it Weiss felt that way too. 

“Date night, tomorrow is Saturday.” Blake provided the answer. 

“Oh yeah. What are we even going to do? I can’t think of anything covert.” Yang scrunched up her face in contemplation. 

“Actually, maybe we should do group dates every other week. I’m rather tired, and while I actually no longer give a damn about subtlety, I haven’t told Winter that I’m trans yet. I want to be the way that she finds out.” Weiss said. 

“Yeah, I guess I’m a bit tired from spending a week preparing too. Wouldn’t mind just chilling tomorrow.” Yang yawned to emphasize her point. “Are you saying that you’re ready for the outside world to know though?” 

“I’m done with waiting. The only thing that I’m not ready to deal with would be my father himself, but he’s in Atlas and I’ve already blocked his number on my scroll.” Weiss shrugged. “Winter is rather busy, so it could take a few days to have an opportunity to speak with her, rather than simply texting. Thus at the least I would like to rest for this week.” It didn’t help that she was still somewhat down from talking about her family earlier.

“We could celebrate presumably passing our licensing exams with a party with team JNPR.” Blake said. 

“Yeah! They managed to succeed in the first part too, even though Jaune isn’t that good at fighting yet.” Ruby jumped in excitement. 

As the others discussed plans for tomorrow over dinner Weiss worked on writing the text she would send to request a call with Winter. She kept it concise and vague, simply saying that there was something she wished to tell her, as well as receive any advice on the same matter that she may have. 

A few hours later Winter responded to let Weiss know that she would be available at ten in the morning the next day, surprisingly quickly, though she most likely expected there to be some form of urgency for Weiss to wish to speak with her as promptly as she did. Their conversations were normally not so rapidly scheduled. 

Getting to sleep that night was a little bit more difficult than usual. Winter was the one member of Weiss’ family whose opinion of her she truly cared about. She didn’t have a reason to think that Winter would be anything less than supportive, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to worry.

Likewise, Weiss spent most of her morning waiting for Winter to call her and trying to think of what to say when she did with bated breath. She asked Ruby to be her emotional support if she needed it, and she agreed. When the moment finally arrived, Weiss squeezed Ruby’s hand for support and answered the phone on the first ring.

“Winter, before you greet me there is something that I must tell you. I am not your brother, rather, I am your sister. My true name is Weiss. Please address me as such.” There it was, the moment of truth.

“I see. I am glad that you have told me this Wiess. May I presume that it is also what you wish for my advice in?” Winter’s voice seemed cold, but Weiss could tell that she was smiling on her end of the line.

“In part. The other part is that I am now in a romantic relationship with my entire team.” Weiss kept her voice neutral, but smiled excitedly to Ruby to show that things were going well.

“And no doubt you are as impatient as always to announce your great rebellion against father to the world. You have done well to prepare yourself for this moment. His influence in Vale is very limited.” Winter’s comment about Weiss beginning a great rebellion wasn’t too inaccurate. Winter had run away from father to the military. Weiss intended to return and fight against him when the time was right. And when she did she would inevitably begin by revealing who he was to the world. 

The time for that was not here or now however, it would only serve to create the risk that she would be banned from Atlas outright.

“Indeed, my entire team have become confidants of the headmaster, as a result any attempted legal retaliation should be intercepted. Two of my teammates reside entirely within the kingdom of Vale, and the third is the child of Ghira Belladonna, the current Chieftain of Menagerie. I believe that they should be safe from direct repercussions by father’s hand.”

“It does appear unlikely that he will be able to take legal action. How prepared are you for illegal action?”

“All of their family members are fully capable of protecting themselves, as are we.”

“But have you warned them specifically that this would be a risk.” Winter was stern.

“Honestly, I had not considered it to be a possibility. Father is many things, but to send a thug after the family of his child’s teammates as revenge for disobedience? Do you really think it is plausible?”

“There was an inciting incident behind my leaving for the military. It leads me to believe that such action is a possibility. I will tell you of it in more detail when next we meet in person, as well as your teammates, I only wish to tell the story once.” Winter’s voice was colder than usual, and it made Weiss frown in concern. She had not known that something in particular had driven Winter away.

“I see. I will tell them and consider altering my plans. Thank you for telling me.”

“Good. And sister?” It was very satisfying for Winter to call Weiss her sister.

“Yes?”

“I am proud of you.”

“Thank you.” A lump formed in Weiss’ throat as the line went dead. She felt ready to cry with happiness. Winter’s compliments were extraordinarily rare and precious to her. This, coming from her at a time like this, was the equivalent of a long-winded proclamation of love and support amongst any other family.

Ruby stared nervously at Weiss as she put down her scroll. “Are you okay? Did it go well?”

“Yes, it went very well, save one thing. We’ll talk about that later though, for now we cuddle.” Weiss wrapped her arms fully around Ruby as she let herself fall back into bed. She buried her head in her girlfriend. Ruby smelled like roses, as always.

“Yay! I couldn’t really tell because you were being so stoic with her, like you used to be to us.” Ruby manipulated her cloak so that it was wrapped around the both of them.

“We were both raised as nobility, so we communicate with each other in the way we were taught. We understand each other that way, even though you three have pretty much broken me of the habit in regards to the rest of the world.” Weiss hummed and closed her eyes as Ruby ran her hands along her sides.

“So it’s sort of like your own special sisterly language.”

“Maybe more that we just know how to read the little things about each other very well, you and Yang are rather similar.” Weiss still laughed at the idea of having a secret language to use with Winter. “We’ve always been very close, even if it’s hard to tell from the outside. We took care of each other a fair bit. Believe it or not, she once wrote an entire essay for me when I was... too distressed to keep up with all of my classes.” Weiss averted her eyes, it wasn’t exactly a lie.

“No way! She seems so strict though.” Ruby sensed that Weiss had almost mentioned something unpleasant and brought her up for a remedial kiss. Which turned into more kisses, until they were hopelessly tangled up in both blankets and Ruby’s cape.

“I could stay here for hours. At least until I need to eat.” Weiss cupped Ruby’s cheek. “I love you so much rose petal.”

“I love you too snowflake.”


	26. Self-Reflection

_We are secrets to each other  
Each one's life a novel  
No-one else has read  
Even joined in bonds of love  
We're linked to one another  
By such slender threads_

_We are planets to each other  
Drifting in our orbits  
To a brief eclipse  
Each of us a world apart  
Alone and yet together  
Like two passing ships_

_Just between us  
I think it's time for us to recognize  
The differences we sometimes feared to show  
Just between us  
I think it's time for us to realize  
The spaces in between  
Leave room  
For you and I to grow_  
-Rush, Entre Nous

As it turned out, even Nora was confident that everyone on team JNPR had passed the written portion of the licensing exam as well, and they agreed to hold a celebratory get-together. There wouldn’t be any more need for serious study weeks until finals came around in a while, and Blake looked forward to having a little time to relax after everything with Ozpin, and all of the rest. 

Not that they didn’t enjoy being in a relationship again, but sometimes it was challenging to watch the way that Ruby and Yang in particular were throwing themselves forward with reckless abandon. They were a little bit guilty of the same thing no doubt, but most of the time they knew they were the one holding things back to progress at a slightly more reasonable pace.

Hearing Weiss opening up about little parts of her relationship with her father was stressful in its own way as well. They had similar enough experiences with Adam that they couldn’t avoid sharp empathetic pangs when hearing these things be discussed. Where Weiss’ heart seemed at least slightly lightened as a result of yesterday, Blake was emotionally lethargic.

They knew that they should do or say something. Probably ask for help. But that was hard. So when Weiss asked to be alone in the dorm, save Ruby, for her call with Winter, Blake ended up crashing on team CFVY’s couch.

“You look like shit.” Coco sat herself in an armchair positioned at a one hundred thirty-five degree angle with the couch. Even though she wore her sunglasses, Blake knew she was observing them closely.

“Yeah, well, I feel like shit.” Blake threw their face into a pillow, and Coco was mercifully silent. Probably because she was telepathically conversing with Fox, who was noisily preparing a meal.

It was nice to retreat to the CFVY dorm sometimes. They always felt welcome, and with Fox’s semblance there didn’t have to be any words if Blake didn’t feel like using them. They knew that they were running away from their problems, but being around the slightly more experienced team was peaceful. They could still feel Coco’s “get your shit together” gaze burning into their back though.

“Fine, fine. You win.” Blake turned back around and stared at the ceiling. “I’m getting stressed out for no good reason, and instead of talking to my beautiful girlfriends about it I’m here stewing in self-loathing and the smell of roasting sand crab.”

Their head turned to look at Coco. She wasn’t saying anything.

“Obviously it’s valid to be stressed about anything that stresses you out. I know that it’s completely irrational of me to be hiding this, but it’s also completely irrational of me to be feeling it.”

No answer.

“That bothers me, you know? It even feels rude and self-centered of me to be feeling like this. And I guess most of that is because of old habits and the way I was treated for so long, but it also just feels so selfish to be bothered by someone else opening about bits and pieces of their trauma.”

Not a peep.

“I know, I fucking know that I should just be talking to them about this and that I’ll feel better when I do. I know this isn’t Adam and that they’re going to be empathetic and understanding and kind with me.” Blake looked at Coco one last time. “Fine! I’ll do it the moment I get the all clear from Weiss to come back and have Yang come back with me so that we’re all together again and I can say something.”

“Sorry, what are you talking about? I was very engrossed in learning about traditional Vacuan sand crab cooking methods from Fox.” Coco tilted her head innocently, that clever bitch. Blake would never know whether that was a lie and/or deliberate.

“Nothing, just some productive self-reflection.” Blake sighed, sometimes Coco did get on their nerves, just because of how damn good at life she seemed. They knew that was partially a very carefully cultivated persona though.

As Blake waited for Weiss to finish what was probably at this point recovery from her business, they got an unexpected message on Fracture.

**KansaiNoRyū: I have a question for you that may be inappropriate  
catNapper: Shoot, I trust you and I’m not doing anything atm  
KansaiNoRyū: how did you know you were nonbinary?  
catNapper: I guess the first step was noticing that I didn’t enjoy being a girl  
catNapper: from there it’s sort of the same kind of process of theoretical elimination, if you know what I mean  
KansaiNoRyū: I don’t think I get it  
catNapper: in my experience, you want there to be some sort of positive emotion associated with the fact that you are the gender you currently think you are  
KansaiNoRyū: I see  
catNapper: and when I realized I wasn’t enthused about a binary gender, it became a question of sort of metaphorically sticking my hand into a big ball of wibbly-wobbly gendery-wendery stuff until I felt something I liked  
KansaiNoRyū: that is... not as helpful as I was hoping for  
catNapper: the thing about gender is that advice is really hard to give because almost everyone’s experience is different  
KansaiNoRyū: thank you for doing your best  
catNapper: most concrete thing I can say is probably start by looking at pronouns, and if you’re talking to Nora about this ask her to use them  
KansaiNoRyū: that’s good advice, thank you Blake  
catNapper: don’t worry about it, just ask if you ever think I can be of further help**

Following Blake’s unexpected conversation with Ren, they found that it was time to make their way back to the dorm and talk with their girlfriends. Weiss also apparently needed to discuss something now that she had spoken with Winter.

Weiss and Ruby were still cuddling when Blake got back to the dorm and took a seat in their bed, though they stopped cuddling and sat up in a more serious fashion when Yang arrived shortly after. 

“So, good news and bad news from Winter. She’s fully supportive of me, but when I told her that I intend to reveal both that I’m trans and our relationship there is a risk that father may retaliate. Not just politically or personally, but by actually performing criminal acts that target us or our families. I think that everyone can defend themselves, but this is something that we need to tell them about.” Weiss sighed heavily.

Everyone was silent for a moment. That was heavy news, Blake wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. 

“I was sort of looking forward to surprising dad, but yeah, he deserves to know. I guess it wouldn’t actually be possible to surprise him anyway and go on dates in public, huh.” Yang scratched her head. “Oh well, it’s not like one crazy father is going to scare me away.”

“Yeah, I’m sure dad will be fine.” Ruby nodded.

“I can’t say this doesn’t make me worry about my parents, but they know how to fight too, and they have political power. I can’t imagine that a sad little dust dealer from a different continent would be a danger to them.” Blake reassured Weiss.

“Okay, if we’re all fine with this risk, then I guess we tell the family members and then if they don’t object I’ll plan to make an official announcement on Wednesday?” Weiss was relieved. 

“Are you okay Weiss?” Yang made her way to the bed and wrapped an arm around the heiress.

“Not really. There’s something that happened that Winter hasn’t told me about yet. Something that makes her think that father would be capable of going that far to control one of his children. Whatever it is, it must be even more fucked up than anything I already know he’s done, which is a lot. She said that she’d tell all of us in person the next time we meet, but I don’t know when that will be.” Weiss sighed and let Yang and Ruby wrap themselves around her in tandem. 

It bothered Blake in some way they had trouble identifying. No, they knew it, they just didn’t want to admit it. They felt a need for attention like Weiss was getting. It was petty. They felt bad about feeling bad, and they knew it was dumb and self-perpetuating, but admitting it was hard in its own way. So they went and joined the cuddle pile. Physical contact was at least a little bit helpful.

After what felt like a long while of whiling away the day talking about nothing in bed with their girlfriends, the festering troubles in Blake became too much, and they had to say something. “So, being here and watching Weiss go through all of these things and being supportive is making me depressed. It’s so relatable it’s making me think about my past experiences, and it feels like I’m being neglected because I’m not ready to talk about most of it yet, and nobody is noticing that I’m not doing well. Which I know is dumb, and that only makes me feel bad about feeling this way.”

“Oh, Blake. I’m sorry, I didn’t think about how talking about all of this could affect you at all.” Weiss bowed her head in shame.

“No, it’s really not your fault. I want to be here to support you no matter what. It’s my own issues that are giving me trouble.” Blake kissed Weiss’ forehead.

“What can we do to help you feel better?” Yang asked.

“I don’t really know. I think it’s going to take a really long time for me to be able to really even start dealing with this stuff. Just, take care of me sometimes I guess. I know I said I didn’t want you to treat me like I’m fragile before, but I guess sometimes I do. It feels like it’s been a while since you all touched my ears.” Blake wriggled their cat ears to make a point.

“”Don’t mind if I do.” Ruby jumped on the invitation and gently scratched right behind Blake’s ears, causing them to groan happily. 

“Guess I don’t mind getting some pussy before the party.” Yang followed suit, this time causing a groan of both annoyance and happiness as Ruby slapped her sister's arm. 

With both of Blake’s ears now occupied by the sisters’ hands, Weiss instead claimed their lips. They happily returned it, clasping their palms against her cheeks and holding the heiress there for a long and intimate kiss, then just enjoying looking into her soft blue eyes as they touched foreheads. “I love you, you dolt. Talk about this stuff more, it makes you feel better sooner.”

“Okay, ok-mmph.” Blake was cut off by another kiss, and this time they closed their eyes, letting their girlfriends’ administrations have their complete attention. A gentle purr rumbled up from their chest as they let Weiss deepen the kiss. When they separated again they smiled and nuzzled their head against Ruby and Yang, whose hands were now stroking their ears properly. “You know, I’ve only ever heard my parents purr around each other and myself.”

The three wonderful people around Blake ooooed and aaahhhaed appreciatively as they kept taking care of them. Eventually however, it was time to go visit team JNPR for dinner.

“I never had any difficulties getting out of bed in the morning before I met you three.” Weiss grumbled as they all forced themselves to stop cuddling and hang out with their friends.

“You know it’s worth it.” Yang winked at the grumpy heiress.

“Obviously.” Weiss rolled her eyes.

As they got themself ready Blake wondered how Ren was doing, and whether he was going to say anything to everyone at the party. It seemed unlikely, he sounded like he was just noticing that he wasn’t cis. They should probably have asked if he would actually prefer they use they/them for the time being earlier.

By the time they were all shuffling into the JNPR dorm Nora was already chowing down on heavily syruped pancakes. Fortunately, there was also real dinner food as well.

“I made stew! What took y’all so long?” Jaune waved enthusiastically as they arrived.

“We were busy being gay.” Ruby casually gave Jaune a third degree blush, probably by accident.

“Calm your tits Jaune, she only means cuddling.” Yang threatened the poor guy as he concentrated on taste testing his stew.

“Hey Ren.” Blake focused on Ren as they noticed him in a corner, oddly far away from Nora, who was still too busy with pancakes to notice his distance. “Talk to Nora about that thing from earlier?”

“No. I also intend to keep it completely unknown for the time being.” Ren glanced nervously around the room.

“Alright, I won’t mention it again then.” There was a long silence in which Blake realized that they basically never talked to Ren. And that he basically never talked. “Good talk buddy.”

Getting together with team JNPR like this turned out to be something like a double date, except with one polycule and two couples. Blake got to spend equal amounts of time flirting with their girlfriends over the food, and jokingly groaning at the other couples when they flirted. It felt like a family dinner.

Jaune’s stew was actually quite good as well, and everyone but Weiss and Ren ended up in a near food coma for the second time in less than a month. This time though, Blake got to hold onto Weiss as they waited until they didn’t feel like they were gonna throw up if they walked.

“Mmmm, I like you Weiss.” Blake hugged the small girl close.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” Weiss kept running her hands through their hair.

“Yeah, I really do.” Blake giggled. They just felt giddy in the presence of their girlfriends this evening. Something about being stuffed full of too much food and slightly more tired than usual was really doing the trick.

“Good, cause don’t tell anyone, but I really like you too.” Weiss pressed a soft kiss against Blake’s neck that made them groan happily.

“Necks are so nice. They’re all soft and vulnerable, and letting people I trust near it is really good, because like you could just rip into my neck and take a big bite out of my jugular vein, but you won’t. You know?” 

“Yes actually. I feel exactly the same way. Especially when vampires are involved.” Weiss was delighted about discovering something that they had in common. 

“Oh really? Have you imagined me as a vampire? Want me to just eat your cute little self up? I do pull off that sort of look almost as well as you do.” Blake teased.

Rather than answer with words, Weiss buried her head in their chest, making all sorts of cute flustered noises. That was probably a yes.

“Hmmm, fun.” Blake laughed and pet Weiss, resigning themself to being here for a while.


	27. I Wasn't Expecting the Atlesian Inquisition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fun chapter of fluff. I'm sort of tempted to skip more time than I had really intended to because I have so many awesome plans for plot that's going to happen, so I think that time's going to pass a little bit more quickly from here out. There's going to be 1-2 chapters of the White Rose date Weiss promised to Ruby earlier, then preparations for Ruby's birthday, the event itself, its natural results, and Winter will be telling her story sometime between then and the beginning of the finals arc. The finals arc is going to be the first lengthy serious arc, though our main characters won't be getting involved with Salem's plans until a little while after that. It's also going to heavily feature an OC that hasn't been introduced yet, which will be the first time I make an OC who's important to the plot and gets bunches of screen time, so I'm pretty excited about that as well.

_So close, no matter how far  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
Forever trusting who we are  
And nothing else matters_

_Never opened myself this way  
Life is ours, we live it our way  
All these words, I don't just say  
And nothing else matters_

_Trust I seek and I find in you  
Every day for us something new  
Open mind for a different view  
And nothing else matters_  
-Metallica, Nothing Else Matters

They sent Zwei home the next day, along with a letter for dad from Yang and Ruby that also explained the relationship they were in and the situation with Weiss’ father. It was a shame, everybody loved the little guy, even Blake. Yang was disappointed they wouldn’t be seeing him again until finals at the earliest, depending on what sort of mission they got assigned. 

Ruby and Weiss went to the dust shop in the morning to replenish what they had used in the fight for the exam. When they returned Weiss was smugly grumpy, metaphorically throwing her bags on the floor. She didn’t actually throw them because they had dust in them. 

“I got called a lesbian in the dust shop.” Weiss had a look that indicated she wasn’t even sure what to feel. 

“Why? What happened?” Yang was very curious about this development and it’s importance. 

“I was being a lesbian.”

“In the dust shop?” 

“Yeah, in the dust shop.” 

“Nice.” 

“It was intended in a rude way, but it was also nice because gender.” Weiss shrugged. “I also picked up some extra gravity dust because I’ve been wanting to try out a new move. Who wants to be my training dummy? Yang, you would be perfect because you don’t have any long-range capabilities and you’re durable.” 

“Thanks, I guess? Sure, I love getting beat up by beautiful women.” Yang winked at a flustered Weiss as she stepped into the bathroom to change into her combat outfit.

Once they were in the training room Weiss had Yang stand at one end and walked to the other end, where she sized up the room’s dimensions.

“Good, this will do. I’m going to charge you Yang, this time I’d like you to stand still for it, because I haven’t actually tried this before. Be prepared to catch me if I fall.” Weiss rotated the cylinder of Myternaster and took up a fencing pose.

“What do you mean fall?” Yang didn’t get an answer as Weiss started charging.

At first Weiss used her regular white glyphs as stairs to ascend slightly while she approached Yang, but then the glyphs became black, and Weiss was using them to run upwards along a nonexistent wall. As she got closer to Yang, she inverted herself further, running upside down with her head a few inches above Yang’s own. After a few steps like this however, her concentration seemed to falter and she lost her footing, sending her falling face first towards Yang with a great deal of momentum. 

Quickly, Yang switched her stance from combat to the stable position she used to catch Ruby when she charged in for a high-speed hug. Compared to Ruby, catching Weiss was pretty easy. The heiress landed upside-down in her arms with a squeak, and Yang quickly righted her into a princess carry. 

“Hey princess, are you _falling_ in love with me yet?” Yang winked exaggeratedly. 

Rather than answer, Weiss bent her body inward on itself in a fit of giggling. She got Yang laughing as well and they just stood there for a moment, laughing at the pun. Eventually though, Weiss did find something to say. 

“Damn you and your wonderful puns.” Weiss slapped Yang’s upper arm playfully, but then she reconsidered and switched to running her hand along the blonde’s bicep. 

“You know you love ‘em.” Yang shrugged smugly. 

“I’ll never admit it to the others.” 

“I think you will. And I think that when you do you’ll enjoy it.” Yang practically growled the last part into Weiss' ear, and she felt the heiress’ entire body shake subtly in response. 

“Maybe. But that day is not today.” Weiss would have looked dignified if she wasn’t currently being held in Yang’s arms. Not that Yang would want her anywhere else. 

“Mmmhmmm.” Yang nodded. She felt a big goofy grin growing on her face as she just looked at Weiss. Slowly ran her eyes along the gentle lines of her face. 

“What are you smiling at?” 

“You.” Yang’s smile broadened. She felt positively giddy. “I cherish you Weiss.” 

Weiss smiled in the cute way that she did whenever someone complimented her. “I cherish you too.” She stretched her head up, and Yang leaned in to meet her lips in a slow kiss. After, they rubbed cheeks for a moment before Weiss sighed. “I would however, like to make a few additional attempts at that move.” 

With a sigh Yang set her girlfriend down. “I guess it will mean that I get more chances to catch you.”

“Unlikely.” 

For the next hour they managed to train with minimal amounts of canoodling. Every time Weiss tried her new move she got a little bit closer to reaching and actually being able to fight Yang while walking upside-down in the air above her. It was brilliant, nobody was experienced in dealing with an opponent directly above them. 

By the time that Weiss ran out of gravity dust they were both tired, though Weiss much more so from the use of her semblance. So they walked back to their dorm together, and Weiss immediately flopped down on the communal bed with a groan. 

“Want me to make you some tea?” Yang wasn’t too tired, she had mostly just flirted and caught a few human projectiles. 

“You’re welcome to try.” Weiss’ face wasn’t visible, but the doubt in her voice was clear. 

“I’d appreciate some as well.” Blake piped up from their bed, where they were reading. 

Yang tried, she really did. She looked up the right way to make tea on her scroll, but when she presented Weiss and Blake with the hot beverage and some sugar and cream they both had agonized looks on their faces.

“Yang, sunshine. I love you, but in the words of a very wise man: this tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice.” Weiss smiled apologetically as she put down her cup. 

“Isn’t all tea just hot leaf juice?” 

“How could someone I love so much say something so horrible?” Weiss pretended to be aghast. 

“I guess I’ll just stick to coffee.” Yang looked to Blake for help. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not as stuck-up as Weiss. This is really bad though, please never make tea again you coffee-drinking heathen.” Blake teased. 

“Heathen, you say? That... that gives me the perfect idea for the name of Weiss’ new move!” Yang jumped triumphantly up in the air. “The Atlesian Inquisition!” 

“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that.” Blake chucked as they played along.

“Of course you weren’t, surprise is our greatest weapon, surprise and fear-Our two weapons are surprise, fear, and an almost fanatical devotion to the pope-Amongst our weapons are! Such diverse elements as surprise, fear, and an almost fantatical devotion to the pope. And a very nice lunch menu.” Yang doubled over with mirth, as did Blake while Weiss looked at them like they were insane.

“What the hell are you talking about?” 

“And you say that we have no culture.” Yang snickered. “It’s from a famous old sketch comedy.”

“I do believe behavior such as this only serves to prove my point.”

“What is this new move that’s being named the Atlesian Inquisition?” Blake pulled themself together.

“She uses gravity glyphs to stand upside-down and attack an opponent from above. Wouldn’t work against most grimm, but it seems like a great idea against people.” Yang wrapped an arm around Weiss’ shoulder conspiratorially. “We’ve got a genius on this team.”

“Obviously. What would you three even do without me? And we are definitely not calling it that. There’s no reason to even give it a name in the first place.” Weiss rolled her eyes.

“No way, cool things deserve names. I think Ruby will agree that the Atlesian Inquisition is perfect. Nobody will expect it.” Blake snickered again at the reference.

“Alright then! You want something unexpected, I’ll give you something unexpected!” Suddenly, Weiss stood up and whipped out Myrtenaster before slamming it into the ground and closing her eyes as a large white glyph appeared in front of her, causing both Blake and Yang to hurriedly retreat from the table they had been sitting around. From the glyph a giant sword slowly emerged and violently pushed the table to the side, then an arm that held it, followed more quickly by a head and the shoulders of a giant armored knight made of ice.

More of the knight materialized, and as it gained a torso it’s head quickly approached the ceiling of the dorm. Fortunately it crouched over in the enclosed space, barely squeezing itself into the room without breaking anything. Once it had finished materializing fully Weiss stared appreciatively at her work.

“Hmm, I actually hadn’t managed to do that successfully before.” Weiss nodded in approval before waving her hand and making the apparition disappear before their eyes with a smug grin.

“What the fuck was that?” Yang was a mixture of awed, surprised, and slightly turned on by Weiss’ display of prowess.

“That was one of the manifestations of my semblance, summoning. I can summon constructs of enemies I have defeated in battle that helped me grow as a warrior to fight for me. That particular summon was the arma gigas that gave me my scar. I need to improve my speed before it will be usable in battle though.” Weiss regally took a seat on the communal bed. “It’s about time that I pulled it off properly. Probably related to my improved emotional state and self-confidence.”

“Okay then. I guess that you win. No naming your cool trick.” Blake had at some point ended up sitting on the floor and they were practically mesmerized as they stared up at Weiss.

“Yo, Blake, you alright? You don’t look completely present.” Yang walked over to Blake and waved her hand in front of their face slowly.

“Erm, yeah, I think so.” Blake contemplated for a moment. “Yeah, just very attracted to Weiss’ commanding aura right now. Makes me want to sit in her lap.” 

“Mood.” Yang turned her own gaze toward the powerful heiress. “Maybe we should each take a leg?”

“That’s a great idea, Weiss, may we?”

“Hells yes you may.” Weiss’ grin widened and she patted each of her legs pointedly.

With a shared look Yang and Blake each took a seat on one of Weiss’ legs. From the outside it would probably have looked rather silly because Weiss was significantly shorter than them. From their point of view however it was excellent. Weiss put a hand affectionately on each of their heads as they looked at each other.

“Hey Blake, you know I think it’s been too long since I last told you how wonderful and amazing you are.” Yang stared into Blake’s eyes.

“Gonna do something about that?” Blake raised an eyebrow at her.

“I... uh, I dunno. Can’t think clearly. Words are hard. I really wanna just kiss you right now.” Yang was tired enough and had enough adrenaline after Weiss’ surprise that she felt a bit loopy, so she just smiled at Blake, doing an impression of Ruby’s puppy dog eyes.

“You big, lovely dork.” Blake shook their head and leaned in for a kiss.

Weiss’ hands on their heads encouraged them to close the distance and keep it closed as they came together and started kissing. Yang was happy to keep their mouths closed, but Blake quickly prodded at her mouth with their tongue, and she was happy to oblige, deepening the kiss while Weiss stroked her hair. Something about making out with Blake in front of Weiss was just excellent.

Blake was clearly determined to be the more aggressive one in their kiss. Their tongue was all over Yang’s mouth, and she sucked it gently in response. She relaxed as she felt their hands grasp her shoulders, letting them hold onto her and reciprocating carefully by placing her own hands on either side of their midsection. 

When they separated Yang’s eyelids were heavy, and she moaned softly at the loss of contact. She shared a brief look with Blake, who briefly flicked their eyes toward Weiss then back at her. Almost imperceptibly, Yang nodded, and they turned their heads in tandem, giving Weiss two big simultaneous kisses on her cheeks.

“Ahhh, this really is the life.” Weiss sighed happily and fell back into the bed with an arm wrapped around Yang and Blake’s shoulders, bringing them with her.

“Yeah. I honestly can’t believe that things are going as well as they are. Like we’re all still dealing with our personal stuff, but overall things are really looking great. I’ve been keeping an eye on reports about White Fang activity lately, and they’re pretty inactive. They haven’t stolen any dust, and nobody’s seen Roman Torchwick since the attack either. I was worried about all of Ozpin’s big revelations and stuff, but things are going fine. There’s peace.” Blake sighed, and wriggled, getting more comfortable in their sort of cuddle with Weiss and Yang.

“Oh yeah, I really hadn’t been thinking about them. Or any of the Oz business, it all feels so far away. I’m just enjoying the now.” Yang snuggled herself closer to Weiss as well, making a nice sandwich. 

“I guess you could say that these days are really the bee’s Schnees.” Weiss cracked her pun, and Blake actually chuckled at it.

“Nice.” Blake kissed Weiss on the lips.

“Hey, you don’t laugh at my puns and kiss me when I make them.” Yang pouted.

“Yeah, well, Weiss’ puns are good.” Blake shrugged nonchalantly, but they were grinning.

“Yeah Yang, you lack in the art of both making tea and subtl-tea.” Weiss kissed Yang’s forehead consolingly. 

“I’ll tea-ch you a lesson in subtlety.” Yang had absolutely no idea what she was going to do, but she knew she was going to find something. Improv was her strong suit.

“Oh come on, all you did was copy Weiss’ pun.” Blake rolled their eyes, but leaned over and gave Yang a quick kiss anyway. “Satisfied?”

“I’ll never be able to get enough of you, but I guess that's sufficient to meet the immediate quotia.”

They spent a good while just laying there, occasionally kissing, and peacefully talking about nothing. Moments like that had become such an important part of Yang’s life. She couldn’t imagine losing them, or the people in them. At times like this nothing else was as important as her partners, not Raven, not Ozpin and Salem. She needed them these days.

Eventually, a soot and grease-smeared Ruby joined them, rambling about things she had been working on in the forge that Yang didn’t really understand. All in all, it was another lazy day, though Weiss did take some time to create her plans for Wednesday.


	28. Pizanno's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much thanks to Alucard45 for influencing this chapter.
> 
> Ayyyy 69,000 word mark

_What happened to our innocence  
Did it go out of style?  
Along with our naivete?  
No longer a child_

_Different eyes see different things  
Different hearts  
Beat on different strings  
But there are times  
For you and me  
When all such things agree_

_All there really is  
The two of us  
And we both know why we've come along  
Nothing to explain  
It's a part of us  
To be found within a song_  
-Rush, Different Strings

While Weiss was largely distracted with preparing to come out to her father, and then the rest of the world, Ruby planned. She wanted to be one to take her out on a date Tuesday, and she knew that it should be on the subtle side. From there, she knew the perfect place. 

It was surprisingly hard to get Weiss’ attention the day of. If there was anything that assured her that Weiss needed a break, it was the fact that when Ruby told her that she was all prepared, the heiress had to ask what she was ready for. It hurt to see Weiss so preoccupied that she had forgotten the importance of the day in the first place. She’d even promised to make up for the date they missed because of licensing exams. That’s why, rather than explain, she yanked the scroll out of her girlfriend’s hands, grabbed hold of her wrist, and physically dragged her out of their dorm and down to the airship docks.

By the time they arrived Weiss was a disgruntled, panting, and messy mess. It was actually a pretty good look on her. She was also clearly very cross with the becaped girl who had dragged her there metaphorically kicking and screaming.

“Ruby. Why the fuck did you just take my scroll and drag me across campus.” Weiss was talking the way she did when she was doing her best not to start shouting. It had been a really long time since she’d used that voice. Whoops.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I probably should have just used words. But I really wanted to rescue you from having to do your serious business things so that we can go on our date.” Ruby twiddled her fingers nervously. She hoped Weiss wouldn't scold her.

“Oh.” All the tension in Weiss’ body suddenly drained away into the flagstones beneath her feet. “Oh no. I forgot. How could I forget? Stupid, stupid Weiss.” She hit herself in the forehead with her palm.

“Whoa there.” Ruby grabbed Weiss’ hands and clasped them between her own. “It’s okay, you’re about to do a really stressful thing. I just want to be able to help you relax. You’re always taking care of me when I get too excited or forgetful or just completely distracted and stopping me from exploding in another dust accident like the first day here. Let me take care of you tonight, okay? Let yourself relax.”

“But I... okay. I am slightly tired. I may have been up late worrying about things beyond my control. And thinking about what he’s probably going to say.” Weiss let herself be pulled into Ruby’s arms for a short hug.

“Here.” Ruby reached up to her neck and unclasped her cloak, then wrapped it around Weiss’ shoulders. “I bet this’ll help you feel better.”

“Your cloak? I couldn’t possibly...” Weiss ran her hands along the edges of the cloak, then flipped the hood over her head and took a deep breath, instantly calming down a little bit. “It smells like you. My knight in shining armor.” She smiled and glanced shyly at Ruby. 

“More like a huntress in shining armor.” Ruby appreciated seeing Weiss’ hidden vulnerability so much. It always honored her that the heiress was capable of letting her guard down around her, and she was just so beautiful when she softened up. She was determined to always be there for her to be herself around. “Anytime, snowflake.”

“Well, knights are hunter analogues, simply older and more aristocratic. They were meant to protect the people as well, before hunters.” Weiss was about to start one of her long academic monologues, so Ruby shut her up with a kiss.

“Stop thinking.”

“That’s impossible. But what is possible is only thinking about how much I love you and also how very hungry I am right now.” Weiss turned her attention to the docks. “If you’ve already got a place in mind, I would like to be going sooner than later.”

“You seem like you’re always hungry lately, are you eating regularly?” Ruby took Weiss’ hand in her own as they walked the rest of the way to their destination at a sane pace.

“I’m eating a fair bit more than I was before. Growing tits is hard work.”

“What! When did you adopt baby birds? How come I haven’t seen them?”

Weiss immediately doubled over with laughter that stopped them in their stride. It took a good thirty seconds for her to recover and gasp out an answer. “I’m referring to my breasts Ruby. Or what will be my breasts, anyway.”

The clarification made Ruby pause for a moment. She hadn’t meant to say she wanted to see Weiss’ chest, but that was what she had technically said. It should be embarrassing, but instead she thought that it was funny too. Did that mean that she wanted to see Weiss’ tits? Sort of. She really just wanted to see more of Weiss in general, she was so pretty.

“I do wanna see more of you though.” Ruby pondered out loud and made Weiss do a double take. “I mean not exactly in a lewd way, just like more skin that people don’t think will lead to sex because all of you is just so pretty and I-”

This time Weiss was the one who shut Ruby up with a kiss. “I get it.”

“Thank you.” Weiss’ reassurance always seemed to break her out of her spiraling messy rambles. Ruby’s stomach growled. “Okay, seriously though, food. We need to walk there from the airport and at this pace the place we’re going they will be closed by the time we get there.”

“Where _are_ we going?”

“Best Atlesian place in town. You know it’s good because it looks really run-down, but they take real good care of the important things, like the tables, and also the food.”

“As long as you’ve actually been there before I suppose that I can put faith in these claims, though shabbiness is hardly a virtue.”

“It’s shabby in a romantic way though. They can’t afford light fixtures so the dining room is lit entirely by candles and the menus have glow in the dark ink on them.” 

“Please tell me that you are exaggerating.”

“Yeah, I was only joking about the menus. There’s more than enough candlelight for people to read them.”

“I guess this is what I knew I was getting myself into when I agreed to date you.” Weiss smiled and shook her head. “It will admittedly be interesting to eat poor people Atlesian food. I have never had the chance before, for obvious reasons. What do they even serve?”

“Their best things are pizza, baked pasta dishes, and the veal parmesan.”

“I see. Baked pasta dish it is then, in all likelihood, whatever that is, at this point I just hope it’s full of cheese and fat.” Weiss sped up their pace slightly, closing the rest of the distance to the airship they were going to board.

“Oh it absolutely is. They also give you bread to dip in an olive oil, garlic, and vinegar mixture beforehand.” Ruby cuddled up next to Weiss as soon as they took their seats, wrapping her lent out cloak around her a little bit. She didn’t quite feel right without it, but the feelings of affection she felt when she saw Weiss wearing it and the way it had helped the heiress relax was more than enough to compensate for that.

“I do adore eating raw garlic, though for obvious reasons I’ve been avoiding it of late.” Weiss mused.

“Good, that means that Blake and Yang will avoid kissing you when we get back and you can be all mine for the evening.” Ruby firmly took hold of Weiss’ wrist, then let go as she realized what she was doing. “Well, if you want I mean. Y’know like uhh...” That sounded like a really weird thing to say. She meant that she wanted more special alone time with Weiss beyond their date, but even she wasn’t entirely what kind of alone time she meant.

“That.” Weiss put her forearm back into Ruby’s open hand. “Is a very appealing proposition, though the exact intent behind it somewhat confuses me.”

“Yeah. It confuses me too, actually.” Ruby frowned. Some of her recent time spent with Weiss had left her vaguely confused in the aftermath, chock full of feelings that she couldn’t really describe, or had been afraid of describing.

“You can talk to me about anything, you know. I have been somewhat avoiding matters of sexuality when we talk because of your age, but if you’re confused I do want to offer my support as your girlfriend.” Weiss slipped her arm around Ruby’s shoulders.

“I don’t know, I really don’t know. All of a sudden there are just all of these feelings that I don’t have any experience with when I’m around you and Blake and I don’t know what to do about them so I’ve just been trying not to think about anything to do with my sexuality or lack of it.” A pit formed in Ruby’s stomach. There, she’d admitted it and there was no going back. “I did actually know what you meant when you said tits it’s just that I didn’t want to think about it.”

“When you say that you don’t know what to do about them, you mean emotionally?”

“I’m aware of masturbation Weiss.” Ruby was very glad that the airship was very sparsely populated at this hour of the evening.

“Oh, of course. That was foolish of me.” Weiss shifted awkwardly in her seat.

“You’re uncomfortable, aren’t you?” 

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say uncomfortable. But yes, I do find this slightly awkward.”

“Should we talk about something else?”

“No, I knew what I was getting into. Furthermore, this is not your fault. I lack experience in being frank about this kind of subject anyway and it would serve me well to continue.” 

“You’re not Frank, you’re Weiss.” 

Weiss giggled and pulled Ruby closer to her. “I see Yang has had an influence after all.”

“Nope, that’s one of dad’s jokes.” 

“So that’s where she got the habit then.” 

“Probably. Feeling better now?” 

“Yes, I am. Good job.” Weiss kissed Ruby on the cheek.

“Keep talking about that then?”

“Yes, I want to hear whatever you have to say.”

“I’ve been hiding that I’ve been feeling... desire sometimes. Even from myself. I thought that I was sex-repulsed for a long time, I managed to internalize it. And then just a few days after we all started dating I felt things I didn’t really want to. That I thought I couldn’t feel. Not sexual attraction, but sexual thoughts about you or Blake. Sometimes it’s fun to indulge in them, sometimes I hate that I have them. It’s all such a mess. So I just tried to ignore it. I’m good at that sort of thing.” Ruby sighed. She couldn’t think of anything else to admit. “And pretty much all I ever think about on purpose is cuddling and romance. It’s what I really, truly care about, most of the time. My libido just feels like it’s getting in the way of the person I thought I was.”

“Ruby, it’s okay. You’re still you, and I love _you_ , desires and all. Every part of you, whether either of us know about that part or not.” Weiss pulled Ruby’s head onto her shoulder. 

“Okay.” Ruby sighed, and settled herself in against Weiss. They were silent for the rest of the short trip. 

When they stepped out into Vale Ruby took a grateful breath of the bright city air. She felt lighter. More ready to be herself, even when she wasn’t sure who exactly she was. She turned to Weiss. 

“I want you to kiss me like you mean it.” 

“With pleasure.” Weiss grabbed hold of Ruby’s shoulders and pulled her entire body close, then captured her in a kiss. 

Immediately, a tongue pressed up against Ruby’s lips and she obliged, a moan sliding out of her as Weiss’ tongue rubbed enthusiastically against her own. She did her best to reciprocate the enthusiasm with which Weiss explored her mouth, feeling out her mouth as well, though not as incredibly confidently as Weiss had done. 

They separated after an unknown number of moments that all felt very long and very good, a strand of saliva even connecting their mouths for the briefest of moments. Ruby stared at Weiss and panted. 

“Fuck.” She wanted more of that. It probably wasn’t that smart to do it right outside a major public transit depot though. 

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say fuck before.” Weiss chuckled and trailed her hand down Ruby’s arm to hold her hand as she stepped back from their close embrace. “But please, as much as I’d like to eat you up sometimes, real dinner is also important.” 

“Uhhh.” Ruby looked around with still-wide eyes as she regained her bearings. “That way. Probably.” 

“Wonderful. Might I recommend using the maps app on your scroll?” 

“Oh yeah, great idea!” Ruby pulled out her scroll and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for it to load a route. “Ha! I was right, it is this way, c’mon Weiss, I’m starving.” She grabbed the aforementioned partner’s hand more tightly and took off, running as usual. 

Weiss kept up with her this time, and it only took a short jog to reach the mostly plain and unidentifiable grey building that had a single, small lit-up sign that said Pizanno’s in red letters. It was invisible from the road and situated in a parking lot next to a grotty grocery store. The only external indicator that it may be a restaurant was the red and white checkered awning which hung over a pair of doors.

“Are you sure that this is the place with the best Atlesian food in town? It looks more like someone is about to sneak in the back for a drug deal.” Weiss was very skeptical.

“C’mon, it’s atmospheric, you’ll see.” Ruby led the way inside, not letting go of Weiss’ hand as she greeted the maitre d and was led to their booth.

The restaurant was very cozy. There were candles at every table and hanging from the walls, creating a soft atmosphere. Their booth had simple dark red curtains decorating it, and the tablecloth was the same checkering of red and white as the awning outside. There were large stacks of wine against one wall, and a few paintings hung from the off-white walls.

“This is certainly _an_ atmosphere. I suppose that it could be considered by some to be a good one.” Weiss was still suspicious of the place.

Ruby smiled as she slid into the seat next to her girlfriend. “C’mon, relax a little, the questionable parts just make it more adventurous.”

“Whatever shall I do with you.” Weiss shook her head affectionately and picked up the menu. “I suppose I do wish to make a point out of seeking new experiences.” Setting down the menu, Weiss turned and turned Ruby’s head so that they were face to face. “I appreciate the adventure.” Then she planted a short kiss on Ruby’s lips, and turned back to the menu.

A rumbling from Ruby’s stomach indicated her agreement with Weiss’ focus on food, and she did the same with a satisfied smile.


	29. Interlude: Suffocation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to interrupt your regularly scheduled White Rose date, but I just couldn't resist posting this interlude, I'm so proud of it
> 
> Content Warnings: suicidal thoughts, mentions of knife play

_Cold  
Lying in my bed  
Staring into darkness_

_Lost  
I hear footsteps overhead  
And my thoughts return_

_Again  
Like a child who's run away  
And won't be coming back  
Time keeps passing by  
As night turns into day_

_I'm so far away  
And so alone  
I need to see your face  
To keep me sane  
To make we whole_

_Try to stay alive  
Until I hear your voice  
I'm gonna lose my mind  
Someone tell me why  
I chose this life  
This superficial lie  
Constant compromise  
Endless sacrifice_  
-Dream Theater, Endless Sacrifice

Just like she had every morning for an unknown number of days, Neo woke up at exactly eight in the morning. As always, she had to force herself to leave the mediocre bed, not because she found laying there to be more comfortable than being out and about, but because she had to force herself to do anything at all. 

As always, she stumbled her way into the bathroom of the small concrete living space she had been assigned as the future commander of this hidden processing facility in the woods placed just far enough outside of Vale that it wouldn’t be noticed. As always, she wondered when the hell they would be processing whatever it was that they were meant to process and why she was even here. 

As always, she sighed while she brushed her teeth and used the toilet, regretting not having taken her chances at getting to Cinder when she had had the chance. As always, when she was done she took the time to take care of Hush. As always, it was unused, but she took out her whetstone and ran it lovingly over the blade anyway, staring at her faint reflection.

As always, her mind wandered, imagining how it would feel to drive her elegant blade straight through Cinder’s heart, and from there to how it would feel to run it through her own. As always, she wondered whether any afterlife that may or may not exist would allow her to be reunited with Roman. 

Neo shook her head. This wasn’t the time. She knew that Roman would forgive her if she let things end before she got revenge, he always forgave her. She wouldn’t forgive herself. Since she was no doubt doomed to eternal torment anyway, she might as well be satisfied with the life she’d lead when she got there. That was how she justified going on to live her next day. Every time.

Every time it felt more hollow. Every time she felt more hollow. Roman was gone. It was a reality that she had to live and breathe every single morning when she woke up until she faded into blessedly dreamless sleep. Every time it sent her stomach lurching around inside of her, like she was climbing stairs in the dark, and she raised her foot expecting to take the last step up, but instead found only empty space. 

That’s where she was, how she lived. Every moment was a continuation of that moment of terrible surprise and utter helplessness in the dark, unable to even scream lest the enemies that surrounded her fall upon her. Falling, falling, falling through that endless darkness. It was terrible, suffocating, omnipresent. She felt like she was drowning with every breath.

She reached out to her nightstand, clutching desperately at the only life preserver she had left, Roman’s hat. Hazel had given it to her when he brought the news of Roman’s death, saying that he knew what it was like to lose a loved one to Ozpin. Hypocrite, if Cinder had killed Roman alone she wouldn’t have taken the hat, he had to have been a part of it. Whatever, Hazel would probably be easier to kill than Cinder, with whatever newfound power she was now being trained in.

At some point tears had trailed down from her eyes and dried, leaving those gross sticky little trails along her cheeks. She wished that she could scream. It was ironic really. She had a mouth and she felt that she must scream, but nothing would ever come out. She couldn’t even laugh madly at her own desperate joke. Couldn’t even go insane properly if she couldn’t talk. After all, if a mute girl goes mad in a forest and there’s nobody there to hear her does she make a sound?

Bursts of air were forced out of her lungs by her diaphragm as she fell back into her bed with what probably would have been a wild cackle, but actually just sounded like the hiss of gas flowing from an unlit stove. She was great at this, she should start a comedy club at this place, give everyone something to do during their time off. 

Not that anyone other than her seemed to have any time off. They kept building, renovating. The once warehouse was being turned into something that looked like a prison, and she was supposed to be the warden. A warden with no prisoners. A getaway driver with no car. An accomplice with no mastermind. She was pathetic, all she had left was revenge, and the hole where her heart was supposed to be.

Maybe that was how she kept going. She just wanted to consume, break, burn everything to the ground in his honor. She had to wait though. Bide her time, strike only when victory was assured, or when she saw an opportunity to at least gain some advantage by doing so.

Maybe she could find a pretty blonde girl somewhere to keep her busy for a while. Have some fun, make her bleed if she was willing to try it. Hush’s blade was so boringly dry every morning. Most of the White Fang didn’t really like her, being human and all. But it would at least be a task that she could attempt. Dabble in the thrill of the hunt. Pass the time. Keep herself at least a little bit sane. Maybe she’d even get lucky and find someone worth signing to, rather than only using pantomime. She’d been lucky enough to meet Roman after all.

The thought did bring a smile to her face. Thinking back on old times, thinking about what it would be like if he came back, wishing that someone would come and save her the way he had. It was nonsensical, it was idiotic, it was... something. It would never happen, it was just like the old days, she knew that. Trust no one. But still, a girl could dream.

Whatever it took to distract herself was fine, really. Salem’s lot didn’t trust her and she couldn’t reach them to attack them directly. It was too late to leave. Then she would have nothing. All she could do was wait, do what she was told and look for an opportunity for some real information gathering.


	30. Creeping Resolution

_Like a million little doorways  
All the choices we made  
All the stages we passed through  
All the roles we played_

_For so many different directions  
Our separate paths might have turned  
With every door that we opened  
Every bridge that we burned_

_Somehow we find each other  
Through all that masquerade  
Somehow we found each other  
Somehow we have stayed  
In a state of grace_

_I don't believe in destiny  
Or the guiding hand of fate  
I don't believe in forever  
Or love as a mystical state_

_I don't believe in the stars or the planets  
Or angels watching from above  
But I believe there's a ghost of a chance  
We can find someone to love  
And make it last  
And make it last_  
-Rush, Ghost of a Chance

Weiss quickly decided that she favored keeping her eyes closed when she didn’t need them on her date with Ruby. It helped her focus on the important things, like the soft smell of roses that permeated the air around her thanks to the cloak that had been graciously provided to her. Or the gentle way that Ruby’s hands danced affectionately over her upper body as the brunette talked. They were good, comforting distractions from the pit that had been in her stomach for the last two days.

It was hard for Weiss to keep her hands off of Ruby, though it would probably get easier once their food arrived. It almost surprised her how needy she could be sometimes, but it made sense, given the lack of affection from others in her childhood. Ruby’s shoulder and upper arm muscles were very well developed from all her swinging around Crescent Rose, and it made Weiss think about what it would be like for Ruby to pin her up against a wall and kiss her. The thought made her bite her lip.

As if reading her mind, Ruby chose that moment to turn and kiss Weiss, and this time she took what she wanted. It was Ruby’s tongue that quickly slipped between her lips this time, rubbing and exploring tantalizingly. 

There was a coughing sound and Ruby pulled back, making Weiss whine in disappointment. As she looked up she realized that the waiter was here to take their orders. It was hard to tell which of the three of them were more embarrassed. 

“Ah, yes, well I’d like the baked ziti, please.” Weiss resolved to leave an extra big tip as the waiter wrote down her order.

“And veal parmesan for me.” Ruby nodded and handed over their menus.

As the waiter was about to leave Weiss realized that there was something else. “Wait. Please take this with you.” She picked up the wine menu like she would pick up a rag off the ground and offered it to the waiter.

“Wine menus are table fixtures, we normally just leave them there.” The waiter looked at her with confusion.

“Please take it away from here.” Weiss knew that her voice was tense, and she vaguely felt Ruby running her hands over her shoulders.

“I see. Okay.” The waiter hurried off with their orders, depositing the list on a nearby table. 

“I didn’t think about the wine. I’m sorry, it’s your mom, isn’t it.” Ruby hugged Weiss, a pained expression on her face.

“Yeah. I hate wine. She’s always had an entire bottle of wine with her, for years.” Weiss buried her head in Ruby’s arms.

“I know what you mean. Uncle Qrow is the same way, I’m sure you noticed. It sucks. I know it probably sounds hollow but she can always get better. You’re going to get rid of your father, and you can be there with her and help her. I believe in you.” Ruby radiated warmth, and they didn’t let go of each other.

“You’re right. Still, I will never be able to get back all those years. But...” Weiss wrenched herself from her thoughts. “No, I’d rather be thinking of the good times to come. We’re on a date, let’s act like it okay? I’m going to be fine, so why don’t you go ahead and start something fun?” She booped Ruby’s nose.

“Well I can’t just do that on command.” Ruby mock pouted.

“Spontaneity is your strong suit, is it not?”

“Yeah, but if you’re telling me to do it it’s not spontaneous.”

“Very well then, as your girlfriend I order you to not be spontaneous.” Weiss smirked at Ruby.

“Okayyyy...” Ruby squinted, then pulled Weiss into her lap. “Gotcha.” She whispered into Weiss’ ear.

“Sure you did.” Weiss smiled knowingly and placed her arms over Ruby’s as they wrapped around her midsection.

“You are so strong, and beautiful, and I am so glad that I get to be your girlfriend, and that I get to be your leader.” In between words, Ruby fluttered kisses against Weiss’ neck, finishing with a straight up nibble that sent a shiver down her spine.

“My, everybody really seems to like my neck lately. Not that I’m complaining.” Weiss was very torn between exposing her neck further in the hopes of additional nibbling, and burying her head in the crook of Ruby’s own neck to return the favor.

The decision was made for Weiss when Ruby trailed kisses up the side of her neck to her ear and nibbled her earlobe. She had to clench her jaw to avoid being too obvious about her enjoyment of the treatment.

“Whoa there, I appreciate the assertiveness, but not too much right now.” Weiss gently slid herself back to being at Ruby’s side, cuddling.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry. This is why I try to not show these things.” Ruby covered her face with her hands.

“Hey now, I didn’t say that it was unwelcome.” Weiss gently pulled Ruby’s hands off of her face. “It is simply a matter of time and place.” She didn’t feel the need to mention that she actually enjoyed the circumstance created by the slightly poor choice of surroundings, in a way.

“Right, right. Yeah, that makes sense. I need to find my balance, that’s it. I need to calm down a little, and just find something in between pretending I’m not interested even when I am, and acting like you three just because I feel like it at the moment.” 

“I’ll have you know that my and Blake’s behavior on our date was perfectly... okay you may have a point. But yeah, not acting on an urge doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re suppressing it, you know?”

“True.” Ruby pondered. “Wait. That means that just because I have a libido I don’t have to act on it.” A smile sprang up on her face and she fist pumped. “Alright.”

“Wait, you’re only just now realizing that? How? It never entered my mind that you didn’t already think that way, or I would have corrected you.”

“Dunno, it just sort of...” Ruby slid a hand over the top of her head and made a vrooming noise. “Went over my head, I guess.”

“You dolt.” Weiss sighed and wrapped Ruby in a hug from the side. “You absolutely irredeemable, utterly hopeless, eternally damned, wonderful fool. There is something I would like to know. If you understand it yourself.”

“What is it?”

“When I do certain things you seem to gain a certain doglike quality to you. Such as when we studied for the licensing exams and you lapped up my praise. Or when I scratched under your chin. Do you understand the impression that that gives me?”

“No, I don’t understand where you’re going with this at all.”

“Ah.” Weiss didn’t really want to have this conversation right now. At the same time though, it seemed pertinent to what Ruby had shared with her so far, and likely to be something that she hadn’t considered or wasn’t aware of yet. “It gives me the impression that you may have interest in certain kinks.”

“Eh? I wouldn’t know. I’ve avoided that kind of information. I don’t have interest in sex, much less sex with extra steps.” Ruby grimaced.

“Kink doesn’t have to involve sex. Specifically, I’ve gotten the impression that you may be into pet play, so you may want to try to learn about such matters for asexuals.” 

“Well, I do enjoy the things you mentioned. If they’re associated with that then I guess it would make sense to consider the possibility that I might enjoy it. Huh, thanks.” Ruby shrugged.

It still felt a bit awkward to be talking about, but Weiss was glad that she’d managed to bring it up. There was still more to be said, but she mostly wanted Ruby to understand what she was doing, so waiting was fine, preferred even. Age could be such an awkward thing, though Ruby didn’t seem to notice it.

“How did I ever manage to get stuck with a partner so brilliant, kind, and so very very lovely?” The thought struck Weiss from nowhere.

“Fate?” Ruby shrugged as she giggled at Weiss’ false lamentations.

“I don’t believe in destiny, or the guiding hand of fate. I believe in myself, and in the people I love, and I think that at some point I started believing that good will always triumph over evil as well. Probably thanks to you.”

“Good. As you should.” Ruby nodded resolutely. “It is sort of romantic to think that we’re destined to fall in love with each other or something though.”

“I completely disagree, there’s nothing romantic about predestination and the loss of free will that it implies, though loss of free will in other circumstances can be quite fun.” Weiss’ thoughts were instantly completely derailed, in a fun way. She closed her eyes while she hugged Ruby tighter and rested her head on her shoulder, just thinking.

“Weiss? Weiss, Remnant to Weiss.” Ruby shook Weiss gently. “Food.”

“Oh.” Weiss pulled her head off of Ruby’s shoulder and yawned. “Did I fall asleep?”

“Only for a few minutes. I really like watching you sleep, you’re so relaxed.” Ruby smiled before turning to her own food.

A grumbling brewed in Weiss’ stomach as she caught the sight of their complimentary appetizer of bread and olive oil with vinegar and garlic to dip it into. She hadn’t eaten since... oh shit, she’d forgotten to eat lunch. No wonder she was as hungry as she was. She dipped a slice of bread in the small bowl of olive oil, but the chopped garlic at the bottom wouldn’t stay on the slice, so she took a knife out of the napkins at her place and used it to apply some extra garlic to her first bite.

“I’m not sure whether I’m impressed at how suddenly unrefined you’ve become, or disgusted by how much you like garlic.” Ruby stared with her own piece of bread in her hands.

“I was not joking about eating cloves of garlic raw, heads even. It’s good for your health.” Wiess shoveled the other half of her bread slice into her mouth with it’s own little pile of olive oil and vinegar soaked garlic. None of the ingredients were of as high a quality as what she was used to, but it was delicious anyway. “You had better try to keep up with me or it might start getting hard to kiss me.”

“I feel like I should take a picture or something to prove that this happened to Blake and Yang.” Ruby took another piece of bread and prepared it the way that Weiss had anyway. She somehow managed to make even the act of taking a bite out of a slice of bread cute. Her silver eyes shined and widened in the light of the candles. “Okay, that’s even better than the normal way.”

“You see? I know what I’m talking about, if I didn’t I wouldn’t say anything.” Weiss waited until they were both between bites and swooped in to give Ruby a kiss. Her lips tasted of garlic and they were excellent.

“Well, now you know to trust me about restaurants too.” Ruby wriggled her eyebrows. 

“True.” Weiss smiled as they kept on munching at the appetizer and bantering back and forth, broken by the occasional kiss.

By the time that their meal arrived they had gone through two small loaves of bread, and four small bowls of olive oil.

“Interesting.” Weiss looked down at her baked ziti. It smelled wonderful, though she supposed that it could do with more garlic. Nearly everything in life could do with more garlic. Cardin Winchester? Rub some garlic into his eyeballs. Jaques Schnee? Rub some garlic into his eyeballs. The thought brought a smile to her face as she took a bite.

“Well, what do you think?” Ruby picked up her knife and fork and started cutting into her own dish. Fried and cheese-covered veal. Probably not the best way that veal could be served, but it certainly looked like it would fulfill a few particular cravings.

“It’s very good. Though it does lack subtlety, it’s also the exact kind of food that I could use right now, given that I need to make up for lunch.”

“You did skip lunch?”

“Not exactly, I forgot about lunch, and subsequently forgot that I had not eaten it.” 

“Well, if you want to, feel free to take some of my food. I’ve had so much bread I’m definitely not going to be able to finish it.”

“With pleasure.” Weiss devoured the large plate full of meat, cheese, and pasta before her with gusto. Ruby had to stop about three quarters of the way through her veal.

“I’m glad you’re eating enough.”

“Yeah.” Things were slowing down. They were almost done with dinner. Their date was almost over. It was getting closer to the time at which Weiss needed to go to sleep. And then when she woke up it would be the day. Suddenly, she didn’t feel like she could eat any more, pushing the plate away from her as she set down her silverware.

“Weiss, breathe.” Ruby reminded Weiss that she needed to breathe, and a shuddering breath left her body of its own volition. 

“I’m scared. Terrified.” Weiss looked at her hand. It was trembling uncontrollably. “I’ve wanted to tell this man where he can shove it for years, but he still terrifies me. Even after so much time away from his influence, even after I’ve found so much of myself.”

“It’s okay Weiss. You can do this. You’re gonna be okay. You are the most stubborn, standoffish, determined, and brilliant person I know. We’re all here for you.” Ruby hugged Weiss tightly. “Come on, focus on my voice. Try to think about us and Beacon and remember to breathe.”

“I want to go home.” Weiss felt so small saying it, like she was still a kid, scared and lost in some unknown place. But she wasn’t, she was in Ruby’s embrace, and that was enough for now. “Beacon.”

“Don’t worry snowflake, we’ll hurry back as soon as we can.” Ruby rubbed Weiss’ back slowly. 

It took far too long to return to Beacon. Weiss’ anxiety just kept getting worse as she realized that every minute that passed was bringing her another minute closer to speaking with her father again and no doubt being subsequently shouted at. She wanted to get it over with already, she genuinely looked forward to giving the ass a piece of her mind and chewing him out over the phone before hanging up for the last time.

Nothing was even helpful in coping with those tenebrous moments. Ruby did her best to talk her through breathing exercises and remind her to breathe when the tension was just so much that she felt like she had to hold her breath, and never broke their physical contact. It was something at least. She wasn’t dissociating. That much was good. 

The trip back in itself was a blur, and by the time they returned to the dorm where Blake and Yang waited Weiss just couldn’t stop shaking. She immediately got into bed and curled into the fetal position, where her partners surrounded her with words of comfort and warm bodies. Sometimes she wondered if it would ever be enough, if she would ever be able to deal with this despicable man and the memories associated with him.

This wasn’t enough, Weiss was stuck in her head and it was all too distant, she needed something tactile. Without thinking, she took someone’s hand and put it against her cheek. Somehow, that was what did it. She was in bed, and surrounded by her partners, and she remembered how to feel safe again. Exhausted from her panic, she managed to fall into one last dreamless sleep before she would take her biggest step in resolving this.


	31. Honor Thy Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're probably wondering why I didn't want to have what happens in this chapter be from Weiss' point of view. It's because if I had I would have had to actually write down slurs, which I don't do.
> 
> Also, we don't have any real reference for how much a lien is worth, so I'm basically thinking of it as USD here

_We're taught unconditional love,  
That blood is thicker than water,  
That a parent's world would revolve,  
Always around their son or their daughter.  
You pretended I was your own,  
And even believed that you loved me.  
But were always threatened by some  
Invisible blood line that only you could see._

_You took advantage of an outreached hand  
And twisted it to meet your every need  
"Gimme time to recharge my batteries,  
I'll see her when she's older  
And I'll bounce her on my knee"_

_Well listen to me you ungrateful fool,  
Here comes a dose of reality.  
You'll go to your grave a sad and lonely man,  
The door is now closed on your  
Pathetic little plan._

_On and on and on and on it goes,  
It's so easy to run away with  
Nothing in tow._

_How can you ever sleep a wink at night,  
Pretending that everything is alright,  
And have the nerve to blame this mess on me?  
Never in my life have I seen someone  
So ignorant to the damage he has done.  
You're the rotted fruit in the family tree._  
-Dream Theater, Honor Thy Father

The morning of Weiss’ coming out to her father was a somber affair. Nobody had slept well, and Weiss could barely manage to drink some tea, much less eat a proper breakfast. It was enough that Blake abstractly found themself wanting to do something about Jaques Schnee. Something painful, though they didn’t know what. Obviously, they couldn’t. He was in Atlas. But the fantasy was there, fueled by a cold rage.

When the time came around for Weiss to make the phone call she seemed to have settled into a calmer state of resolve, as opposed to her further worry. Blake, Yang, and Ruby sat around her, each keeping careful points of contact with her body, reminding her that they were there.

They all watched with bated breath as she dialed the number, then asked someone who must have been a secretary to connect her to her father with an insistence of urgency. Finally, the true conversation began.

“Father, I assure you that this is a very urgent matter. One which I will shortly be revealing to the press, but to which I owe you the courtesy of being the first member of the public to know.” Weiss' words were steady, and she smiled coldly during a brief pause in which Jaques must have said something.

“That is exactly my intention, father. I wish to inform you that I am not your son, but rather your daughter. From here on you will address me as Weiss, or not at all. Furthermore, I have entered into a romantic relationship with all three of my teammates.” There immediately followed a flurry of indistinct noise from Weiss’ scroll that all three people not using it could easily identify as shouting.

It continued for nearly a minute, during which Weiss grimaced, but seemed to be little more than annoyed, or occasionally disgusted. “Yes, that is precisely the response I expected from you. So be it. Actually, thank you. I no longer have any reason to hold the slightest bit of remorse or mercy for what I must do now. Listen carefully, I will graduate from Beacon, and once I have I will come for you. I will reveal your behavior and your attitude to the world and I will personally see you stripped of all the things that you have stolen from others. Your wealth, your freedom, and your power will be turned to me, or to the people.”

“I will take my rightful place as the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, and I will restore the honor of my family, which you merely married into. I will ensure that you are locked up for the rest of your days and that no one else is hurt by your callousness and greed. You will die a sad and lonely old man, your legacy of pain and hatred will be erased by my hand and by the time that you rot to death in the prisons of Atlas you will have been forgotten by all but those who have been the most hurt by your behavior. Good riddance you parasite.”

Weiss nearly hung up the call, but seemed to think of one last thing to say before she did. “Oh, and one more thing. FUCK YOU, I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!” Then she ended it, cutting off another distant crackle of anger. “Hmmm, well. That was rather cathartic. Except for all of the slurs.” Weiss grinned, and then cackled with laughter. 

“Damn Weiss, that was actually really fucking badass.” Blake nodded in approval. It really made them want to kiss her.

“It certainly ought to be. I must have spent hours practicing that.” The grin on Weiss’ face widened.

“Good fucking job Weiss, you really showed that asshole who’s boss.” Yang gave Weiss a kiss on the cheek.

“You did it!” Ruby straight up tackle hugged Weiss, sending her scroll flying off to the floor.

“Yeah, I really did, didn’t I?” Weiss shrugged. She looked surprised at the statement. “Now there’s only the annoying part. Reporters.” She rolled her eyes.

“Why do you need them anyway?” Blake still didn’t understand the reasoning behind the other half of Weiss' plan.

“First, by attracting attention to myself and providing the reason why I’m going to be disowned, I’m protecting us, at least temporarily. Anything that happens to me or someone close to me will be under scrutiny for a period of time. Secondly, I won’t allow my father to have the ability to out me, for any period of time, even though I doubt that he would, simply because he thinks that my existence reflects poorly on himself.” As she went on, Weiss became increasingly animated.

“Third, it gives me an opportunity to publicly voice some of my opinion of the way that he runs the SDC. That part is mostly vindictiveness, though it is possible that I could influence change. The board probably won’t like that he’s disowning his kid for this reason, though no doubt it’s more because of how it looks to others than because it’s wrong. Furthermore, it would be nice to get fewer dirty looks from faunus when they hear my last name.” Weiss shrugged and let her head rest in the bed as Ruby cuddled her harder. “I have no doubt that I am going to be so very very done with using words once the day is over though.”

“I wish you’d let us come with you for that, I’d make sure they go away when you need a break.” Yang flexed her muscles to make a point.

“Yes, that is one of the many reasons why I am doing this part by myself.” Weiss rolled her eyes. “You would inevitably threaten someone, or one of us would say something foolish, and that would be a problem. Besides, this really is the easy part. I’ve had to deal with reporters my entire life, I am very done giving any fucks about them.”

“Well, I hate to see you leave, but I love to watch you go.” Yang winked at Weiss as she started to extract herself from Ruby.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll be back before our next class. Just don’t have too much fun without me.” Weiss grabbed a granola bar on her way out, something that proved to Blake that she genuinely was feeling much better.

“We should make her a lunch and give it to her when class starts.” Blake got up from the bed and started searching for food.

“That’s a good idea, she was starving last night because she forgot to eat lunch. If her appetite is back now she’s gonna be hongry.” Ruby nodded sagely and joined Blake in throwing something together.

“I’d join you, but I think I need to go blow off my anger at the fact that that crotchety old bastard just called my girlfriend slurs.” Yang slid Ember Celica onto her wrists and headed out.

As they started to prepare some toasted sandwiches for Weiss, Ruby hesitatingly posed them a question. 

“Blake, you, uh, you don’t have to answer, but is petplay racially insensitive?” 

“What.” Blake did a double take between the stone ground mustard that they had been lovingly spreading and Ruby. 

“Is petplay racially insensitive?” 

“Generally no. Just like with all kink, it’s just a fantasy. As long as everybody consents and respects each other it should be fine. Why exactly are you asking?” Blake had very much not expected Ruby of all people to ask a question like that.

“Well, I had a good talk with Weiss last night, and I’ve been thinking about a bunch of things, and that’s just sort of the first thing that’s come to mind about that and I thought that you were probably the best person to ask.”

“I see. And as a result of something Weiss said you are considering whether you may have an interest in presumably non-sexual kink?” That seemed like it could be a questionable situation. Blake trusted Weiss, but the fact that Ruby was still a minor and they weren’t could begged extra caution sometimes.

“Right.”

“And just to be clear, who initiated this conversation?”

“I did.”

“Okay. That’s good.” There shouldn’t be any reason to be concerned then.

“Yeah. I sort of wish you two would stop walking on my eggshells because of my age, but I do get why you do. Still, it would have been nice to have realized all this stuff before now.” Ruby shrugged.

“There are only two and a half weeks left, so not too much longer at least.” Blake’s concentration was restored enough to finish the sandwich they had been making and put it in the toaster oven.

“Mmmm. True. Anyway, thanks. I’m gonna go learn stuff now.” Ruby abandoned her half-done sandwich and hopped into bed with her scroll. 

With a sigh Blake finished the other sandwich and started finalizing everything. They threw in an apple for good measure and packed Weiss’ lunch up just in time to head to grimm studies, accompanied by Ruby, who insisted on reading whatever she was reading on the way. 

Along the way they met up with Yang, and at the classroom door Weiss was waiting for them. She thanked Blake for the food as they went inside.

Port’s lecture was as dull as always, even though this time it was about death stalkers. 

“Adult death stalkers are deceptively simple foes. They can attack only with a tail and two claws at close ranges and with comparatively small ranges of motion. However, their movement is incredibly fast, and as adult grimm they are perfectly capable of acting tactically. They know that circling behind them will often present a safe place from which a hunter can detach their tail and greatly weaken them. Furthermore, their armor is thick enough that breaking through it is functionally impossible, save with the unlikely method that was demonstrated to us by team JNPR during this year’s initiation. As a result, a fight with a death stalker is most often a long and gruelling war of attrition, in which hunters must carefully work to remove all of its eyes or legs, or restrain it enough to land a dust-enhanced shot directly through one of its eyes.”

Blake couldn’t resist. They tore a piece of paper off of their notebook and started writing.

_How’d it go?-B_

_Well enough. They all got the message and stopped misgendering us eventually. Then I managed to talk about some things that actually matter before I had to leave-W_

“Miss Schnee, my classroom is not a cafeteria.” Professor Port’s moustache twitched vigorously as he called out Weiss’ lunch.

“My apologies Professor, but I had business to attend during my ordinary lunchtime and I find learning to be rather difficult on an empty stomach.” Weiss smoothly talked Port down.

“Hmm. Very well, I suppose that it is better to eat now than not at all. But do refrain from making a habit of it. Though, you know that does remind me of a story. I once single-handedly defeated a death stalker with only a pair of meat skewers.” Port droned on into another one of his implausible stories. Coco said that they were all true, but Blake just couldn’t find it in themself to believe that anyone could be that skilled with meat skewers.

Only when they got passed another note was Blake saved from their boredom.

_(Don’t give this to R) we should go shopping and get birthday presents this Sunday, what’s our cover story?-Y_

_okay, but why would we not want R to know we’re doing that?-W_

_she would use her puppy dog eyes and find out where they are, then open all of them. it’s happened before-Y_

_we could let Nora take care of them, she’s strong enough to resist the puppy eyes, besides, I don’t want to lie about what we’d be doing, even for the sake of pleasant surprises-B_

_Yeah, I guess that should work-Y_

When class finally let out Weiss intercepted Blake and separated them from Ruby and Yang.

“I’ve got an idea for a present from both of us, to give as her partners. Has Ruby told you anything about our talk last night?”

“She told me that you helped her figure out some stuff and she asked if petplay was racially insensitive.” Blake smiled. It was such a Ruby thing to do.

“Is it?” Weiss looked concerned for a comment.

“Short answer is no.”

“Okay good. Anyway, what if we got her one of those headbands with dog ears on them? For that purpose. It's enough that it’ll probably start that conversation without being too much, and also is just generally cute. And if she doesn’t end up interested we can probably find other uses for it.” Weiss winked as she finished her pitch.

“That actually sounds like a good idea.” The thought of Ruby being a puppy hadn’t really come to Blake before, but they had to admit that it seemed like a good and accurate one. “We definitely need to impress on her that it’s just an idea before she opens it, but yeah. I like it.”

“Nice, I’ll try to find something on etsy today. What color do you think? Black to match her hair is a given, but adding a dash of red to it might be fun.” Weiss was getting very enthusiastic about this idea.

“Yeah, probably, just don’t spend too much on it.”

“Eh, it’s just money. Have you forgotten who I am?”

“Oh, right.” Blake was still surprised by Weiss’ blasé attitude towards money sometimes, but well, she was rich. “How much money do you have access to without your father anyway?”

“About seventy-five million lien, mostly in various assets. And of course it only increases over time, faster than I expect to be able to spend it. There are even donations made to various charitable organizations on a regular basis and it keeps increasing.” Weiss shrugged. “Such is the nature of vast wealth.”

“If you were anyone else I think I would hate your guts on principle right now.” Blake frowned uncertainly. That was a massive ethical matter on its own. It probably didn’t matter though, even though the existence of the ultra-rich was inherently problematic, not everything could be black and white when you got down to the real people behind those principals. That was something that he would never understand.

“Thank you?” Weiss stared for a moment before shaking her head to clear it.

“Don’t mention it.” Blake grinned, their good humor returning as they pulled Weiss in for a quick kiss. “I can say for certain that you’re the most ethical millionaire I’ve ever met.”

“Even more than Coco?”

“I actually forgot Coco’s family is rich. She’s so down-to-earth. I guess it’s a tie then.”

“Are you calling me an airhead?”

“More detached from reality sometimes. You’ve gotten much better about it though.”

When they got back to the dorm Yang and Ruby were individually gyrating themselves about with very little grace or comprehensible purpose in some form of celebration.

“Yo! Check this shit out!” Without warning, Yang threw two flat pieces of plastic at Blake and Weiss. The plastic immediately curved floated to the ground anticlimactically.

“What are those?” Weiss was obviously staring at Blake as they bent over and picked them up.

“Oh nice. It’s our provisional licenses!” Blake handed Weiss hers and took a look at their own. Ugh, they still used sex markers on these damn things. They hadn’t been prepared for how gross a realization that was. It left a bitter taste in their mouth. At least the pictures had been taken on the day of the exams.

“Oh! Oh.” Weiss visibly deflated as she no doubt realized the same thing Blake had. “Well. It’ll be fun to go on our own missions sometime at least, I guess.”

They made plans to do something quick on Saturday for pocket change before their next group date and for the shopping trip for Ruby’s birthday, and the rest of the day went by much as any other. Nothing much else of note happened that week, most likely because they didn’t leave Beacon.


	32. Best laid plans

_Now I've gained some understanding  
Of the only world that we see  
Things that I once dreamed of  
Have become reality  
These walls that still surround me  
Still contain the same old me  
Just one more who's searching for  
A world that ought to be_

_All the same, we take our chances  
Laughed at by time  
Tricked by circumstances  
Plus ca change  
Plus c'est la même chose  
The more that things change  
The more they stay the same_  
-Rush, Circumstances

It had been a good while since Yang had decided to go shopping. After all, she only had a few outfits and she was happy with all of them, and pretty much all she consumed was food. There just wasn’t any need, except on special occasions like this. It was good fun when she did though, and it would be especially enjoyable in the company of Weiss and Blake. 

As usual, getting up was hard. Their group date last night had run late and it made Yang want to just spend all day cuddling in bed. They’d gone bowling, and there were some people who had seemed to recognize the four of them, but they had been able to be left in peace. It helped that they’d opted for the slightly more expensive slightly fancier room to bowl in. Even Weiss had enjoyed herself, though without ceasing her complaints about the admittedly terrible food. 

So far there had been no important consequences of Weiss’ coming out, and Yang really hoped it would stay that way, though it didn’t seem very likely. Still, they probably had at least a few weeks before anything happened, and there was nothing more to be done in preparation. They might as well enjoy themselves. 

Eventually, Jaune came knocking as requested to fulfill the role of hanging out with Ruby while the three of them went shopping for her presents. That was enough to force everyone out of their practically perpetual cuddle pile despite plenty of protest from everyone other than Weiss, who always did seem to have the most executive function. 

“So Weiss, looking forward to your first opportunity to go shopping in a group?” Yang held Weiss’ hand as they strolled down a main street towards the nearby mall. 

“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but yes, I suppose so. Though I must admit that I don’t like crowds very much, so hopefully it’s not too busy.” Weiss sighed, even as Blake took her other hand. 

“It’s a Sunday afternoon. There will be crowds, but if you need a break let me know, I know good places to get away from them.” Blake reassured Weiss as they approached one of the mall's entrances. 

“Yeah, malls are usually spacious enough that they can fit all of the people in them comfortably.” Yang nodded and pushed open the glass door that led into the entrance, revealing the typical shiny and glass-paneled interior of a large mall. 

“Let’s start by finding a machine parts store and making sure we don’t get her the same things from there.” Weiss got down to business quickly, walking up to the map on display and scanning it for something appropriate. 

“A place like that would only be useful to hunters, there’s not going to be one here, everything is consumer goods and the occasional service like a hairdresser.” Blake stepped up and started looking at the map themself. “I’m not entirely sure where we should be looking for gifts though, this isn’t something I’ve done before.”

“Never?” It seemed strange to Yang that someone wouldn’t have any experience with gift giving at all. 

“I’m an only child and the only romantic partner I’ve had before now would probably say that his favorite gift is the heads of his enemies served up to him on a silver platter. Faunus don’t generally care about bullshit commercialized holidays either, like Father’s Day.” Blake shrugged, and Yang winced at their use of imagery and its implications. 

“Okay, well one place that we could stop by would be this manga and anime store that Ruby’s dragged me to before. Probably also go somewhere that sells video games too. Those are the places to get less personal gifts if you’re out of ideas. Or maybe you’ll find something special, it’s worth checking out at least.” Yang pointed out each of the places she mentioned on the map. 

“I do have an idea for something small that she might like, but I want to get her more than that and our joint present.” Blake took note of a store. 

“Joint present?” Yang raised an eyebrow. 

“Sorry, but you can’t get in on it or know what it is, it’s a very special surprise.” Weiss shook her head.

“Well that’s mildly concerning.” Yang joked and turned to start walking around the expansive area. “Let’s just wander around and see what catches our eye.”

As they started to wander their way in the direction of Ruby’s favorite store Weiss' scroll made noise and she hurriedly stopped and pulled it out. “It’s Winter. She secured a responsibility inspecting a factory involved in producing electronics for the mass production of Atlesian Paladins and she says she’ll be coming back to Vale in the first week of November.” She looked stressed about it. 

“That’s... good, right?” Yang put a hand on Weiss’ shoulder. 

“It’s ominous. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. The worry of what she could possibly need to tell us is probably worse than what actually happened though.” Weiss smiled placatingly, obviously trying to brush off her worry. 

“Don’t worry. We’ve got you, no matter what.” Blake gave Weiss a quick hug. “I see a place that probably has something I’m getting, I’m gonna grab it real quick.” They zoomed off with only that vague comment before Yang could react. 

“I guess we’re trying to keep these presents somewhat secret from each other now.” Yang shrugged. That did make it more fun. 

“Perhaps.” Weiss stared in the direction Blake had gone off in.

After a quick minute Blake came back with an unmarked bag containing something cylindrical. “I probably should have held back on the fish sticks last night. That was more than I expected it to be and now I’m broke again.”

“They weren’t even good fish sticks.” Weiss shook her head in disappointment.

“I know, right? That’s what makes it so weird.” Blake held out their hands helplessly.

“Why don’t you just bum some money off your parents? They’re in charge of Menagerie, I don’t see how they wouldn’t be wealthy enough.” Yang elbowed Blake playfully.

“Not my style. I wouldn’t take money from them unless it was a serious emergency. Roughing it is fun in its own way.” Blake shrugged.

“Well, here’s the place where Ruby usually gets her manga. The blue-rays are out of our budget, so that’s probably something you could do for her Weiss.”

“Is two hundred lien a lot?” Weiss wandered over to a row of disks and browsed through them briefly.

“Yes. It is. She always says these babies are really high quality and that means they cost a lot too. It’s pretty different from the way most other kingdoms price their media. Usually it’s just the show or movie itself, but they really go crazy with it in Mistral, and fans of the stuff eat it up.” 

“Well, I suppose that I’ll see if I can find something nice and gay then.” Weiss pulled out her scroll and must have started searching for that white whale of anime, actually good lesbian romance.

“Good luck, you’ll need it.” Yang took some time to browse for new volumes of Berserk for her collection, and Blake followed Weiss about the racks of disks, helping her to look for whatever she seemed to have decided on getting.

Eventually Weiss headed over the store counter and Yang ended her quest with a sigh of resignation. She still hadn’t managed to find anything after Gus got on that damn boat.

Ruby tried her best to balance her budget between games and things for tinkering with Crescent Rose, but she usually ended up spending it all on Crescent Rose. It made sense, her weapon was both a child to her and an important aspect of not dying in a fight with grimm. Still, she needed to relax too, so Yang liked to pick up the occasional game that she was interested in.

All it took was a quick in and out at the game store to grab a copy of Yakuza 7, the ninth game in the series.

“She likes this sort of thing where you play as a criminal?” Blake studied the box disinterestedly.

“Look, Kiru Kazuma is not just a criminal. He is simultaneously the world’s nicest Yakuza, the world’s best dad, and the world’s biggest DILF, though that last one is just my personal opinion. These games are beautiful, they don’t take themselves seriously at all and things are both melodramatic and hilarious. At the end of every game except the prequel he actually quits the Yakuza and then comes back to save it in the next one.” Yang gestured enthusiastically as she ranted about her love of Yakuza.

“If you say so.” Blake stared at Yang suspiciously before shrugging and moving on. “So, now what? We’ve all got presents.”

“I guess we could make it a mini-date for the three of us.” Weiss was thoughtful. 

“This mall is a bit gentrified for my taste, but I do know of something much more interesting happening nearby that we can probably get in on.” 

“What sort of interesting?” Yang was very interested in what activities Blake might suggest. 

“Culturally interesting. I saw a poster for a local production of a classic faunus play on the way here. We could stop by and get four tickets if they have an evening showing tonight.” 

“That sounds like a fascinating idea. I know functionally nothing about faunus culture, I would love to learn more.” Weiss enthusiastically agreed as they started walking back to where they had entered the mall. 

“Knowledge and stories were traditionally passed down between generations orally, so we don’t have a lot of stories or plays left.”

“Orally.” Yang snickered. 

“What happened to all of that oral tradition?” Weiss glared at Yang. 

“So many nomadic tribes were scattered or assimilated into major cities during the Great War, and many of them never managed to pass that information on. When Menagerie was founded it began the first major effort to put as much of these things as possible into writing.” Blake ignored Yang’s comment, thankfully. 

“Wait, why would something happen to the tribes during the Great War? It was between the kingdoms, they didn’t have anything to do with it.” Yang had never heard about the kingdoms doing anything beyond the usual during the Great War before. 

“It started when they banned us from having firearms because they were such a recently useful invention. Even for hunting. They were paranoid that we would take guns as payment to start guerrilla warfare against them in what they considered their own territory. Everyone in a tribe that was caught with a single one was either conscripted, relocated, executed, or driven away. So, many tribes armed themselves to defend themselves. It led to exactly what the kingdoms had been afraid of, guerilla warfare from inside of the kingdom. The only kingdom where this wasn’t an issue was Vacuo, and that’s how they were able to compete with the other kingdoms that had more resources than them. That’s where the real leverage to establish Menagerie came from, not the occasional couple of faunus soldiers who were in the war willingly.” Blake sighed deeply. 

“What the fuck? How could they be stupid enough to do that? That’s idiotic, it’s insane, it’s so fucked up! What the fuck!” Yang’s fists clenched, her nails digging painfully into her palms. Her eyes were probably red, and she didn’t care.

“Welcome to faunus history 101. We’re only getting started.” Blake was completely calm, apathetic about it even. And they were joking around.

“How can you joke about that?”

“Because the other options are to be angry or depressed.” They shrugged helplessly. “It’s all in the past, those people who are responsible are all dead. The best thing to do now is heal the living and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“I’d never let something like that happen.” Yang couldn’t unclench her fists, even when Blake smiled gently at her in response. 

“You know Yang, you and Adam aren’t all that different. But you get angry and you want to protect people, not hurt them. I think that’s why I love you.” 

Yang stared at Blake, and her fists unclenched. “I... thank you.” It shocked her that they were bringing up Adam like this. The moment felt heavy, they were placing their trust in her, a lot of it. “I won’t let you down.” Yang couldn’t look away from Blake as they embraced.“

“Good. Now let’s go check out this play.” Blake smiled and pointed out a small theater. 

It turned out that there were still plenty of tickets to the show that was happening that night, and they bought four of them from the only person working at the time.

“Maybe you should actually do that.” Weiss said to Blake out of nowhere as they walked back to the airport.

“Do what?” Blake looked at her quizzically.

“Teach history. It is an academic disgrace that Doctor Oobleck did not even talk about the faunus half as much during the entire section of class we did about the Great War as you have just told us.” 

“That’s... an interesting idea. I hadn’t really thought about what I was going to do when I graduate. If I specialized in history and ended up getting a job teaching at one of the academies I could do a lot of good, change the next generations of hunters so much. Help them to be less blind to the way faunus have been and still are treated.” Blake stopped in their tracks, causing Weiss and Yang to stop as well. “I might do that.”

“It’s probably best not to commit yourself to that too soon, after all we’re team RWBY and even the best laid plans of cats and men...” Yang was cut off by Blake punching her in the arm, lightly enough that they didn’t mean anything by it. “In all seriousness though, no plan we’ve ever made has worked out. At this point I’m starting to think that planning for the future like that would be a bad idea, and that we’d end up dooming ourselves to never having things work out that way.”

“Now that’s just paranoid.” Blake smiled and shook their head.

“Oh yeah, name one time a life plan of someone on this team has worked out the way they expected.”

“Ruby literally always wanted to be a huntress. Now she’s the leader of one of the best teams in our class.”

“But that was technically before she was in the team. I’m referring to things working out after we got together.”

“Okay, I see your point. Gonna strongly consider that plan anyway.”

“Very well, but you invite your dooooom...” Yang waggled her fingers at Blake mysteriously as they started walking again. “Dooooooooom...”

“Stop being so superstitious.” Weiss smiled at Yang and ran to catch up to Blake.

“I’m not superstitious, I’m only a little bit stitious!” Yang hurried after her partners.


	33. Ruby's Big Day

_As my life goes on I believe  
Somehow something's changed  
Something deep inside  
Ooh a part of me_

_There's a strange new light in my eyes  
Things I've never known  
Changing my life  
Changing me_

_I've been searchin'  
So long  
To find an answer  
Now I know my life has meaning, oh_

_Now I see myself as I am  
Feeling very free  
Life is everything  
Ooh it's meant to be_  
-Chicago, (I’ve Been) Searching So Long

Two weeks flew past like voices in a hurricane from Ruby’s point of view. There was schoolwork, there was romance, there was private, solitary self-discovery. Lots of “self-discovery” was prompted by that self-discovery as well, far more than she usually went about in a given week. The change was disturbing at first, but she had to admit that she felt better having something to focus her energy on that she was actually reasonably sure she might do at some point. Or at least that she wanted to do in a way that was prompted by something other than the perpetual nagging of her libido.

The morning of her birthday was probably the greatest existential crisis she had ever experienced. She was the first person to wake up, and thus had to choose between staying cuddled up against Blake and waking everyone else up to celebrate. Both options were ideal birthday mornings, and equally desirous.

An unexpected noise ended up resolving the process. Weiss, who was still sleeping, sighed. It was a small, soft, and light sound, and it made Ruby’s heart speed up as her breath momentarily caught in her throat. There was no way that she could possibly bring herself to wake up the sweet snow angel in bed with her. 

So long moments stretched together, some of her partners probably began waking up, but she knew that they would stay in bed as long as she did, so she just took the opportunity to squeeze Blake closer and take hold of Weiss’ hand. Getting out of bed was so hard.

“Good morning to you too you cuddle addict.” Blake gave Ruby a lazily drawn out kiss. 

“We’re all equally cuddly.” Weiss yawned as she sat up in bed. “Though at this point I cannot imagine getting by emotionally without regular physical contact, so we may all be addicted.”

“I think it’s more that we never realized how much we all needed this sort of thing until we found it.” Ruby was starting to get hungry enough that she was considering untangling herself from everyone else.

“Sort of like the opposite of food, which is what I need right now.” Yang gently lifted Weiss and deposited her on top of Ruby as she got up. Instead of actually retrieving food though, she pulled out her scroll and seemed to send a message to someone. Then, she went and unlocked the door to their dorm.

“Yang, what ar-”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Nora burst into the room with a massive pile of pancakes balanced impossibly on a plate and covered in syrup, followed closely behind by a bacon-bearing Pyrrha.

“I hope we aren’t intruding.” Pyrrha was much calmer, though she still grinned broadly as she started distributing food in tandem with Nora.

“No way. This is a great idea!” Ruby’s eyes widened as the smell of the bacon started drifting over to her, finally giving her the energy to let go of Blake and get out of bed despite their very sleepy groan of complaint.

As Ruby took her first bite of pancakes she realized that these weren’t just any ordinary pancakes, they had surpassed the ordinary limits of mere mortal pancakes, gone beyond the impossible, they were strawberry-chocolate chip pancakes. The chocolate chips were even dark, instead of milk or semi-sweet, pairing perfectly with the bacon and milk that she was provided. 

“Where are Ren and Jaune?” Blake eyed the pancakes with envy as Ruby claimed the entire first stack for herself.

“They’re making the next batch. We weren’t entirely sure if any of you might be uncomfortable with them seeing you in your pajamas in a morning cuddle pile, so we assigned their duties with discretion.” Pyrrha deposited her load of bacon next to Ruby. 

“Indeed, I would not appreciate that.” Weiss wrinkled her nose at the thought. 

“Ood ob ang.” Ruby gave her sister a thumbs up as she gratefully stuffed her face with birthday bacon. 

“Why yes, I did already know that I’m the best big sister ever.” Yang smirked as Ruby rolled her eyes at the deliberate misinterpretation of her muffled words. “It was actually mostly Nora and Ren’s idea though.” 

“We like to go crazy for other people’s birthdays since we don’t know ours.” Only Nora could turn something so depressing into an upbeat and celebratory statement. 

“We’re also going to Coco’s party this evening, so morning works. Though I think that watching Ruby eat may be the scariest thing I encounter today.” Pyrrha’s terror did nothing to deter Ruby in the process of shoving delicious food down her pie hole.

“Are you going Yang?” Blake lazily looked over to the girl in question.’

“Why would you even bother asking?” Yang was indignant at the suggestion that she would miss a party.

“You’re the only party person here. The rest of us are probably just staying in. I know I am.” Blake curled back up into Yang as they gave up on getting any food for themself just yet.

“I intend to spend this evening with Ruby, wherever she goes.” Weiss got out of bed and started gathering together her clothes for the day.

“I don’t feel like being in a room filled with bright lights, loud music, and strangers wearing menacing outfits tonight, so no thanks.” Ruby sat back with a sigh, all of the pancakes gone from her plate. 

“Thank the gods.” Weiss disappeared into the bathroom with some water and her clothes.

“Halloween costumes aren’t usually all that menacing. Hell, at a college they’re probably going to have a tendency to be on the sexy side more than creepy. Why do you say that they’re menacing?” Blake tilted their head in interest.

“They usually change people’s hair and involve clothes that I don’t recognize, so even when I know someone I can’t recognize them because they’ve changed their appearance.” Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Obviously.”

“What do you mean obviously? Are you saying that you recognize people by their holistic appearance and not their faces?” 

“Yeah. Are you saying that differentiating between faces is a thing that people can actually do? I always thought it was just an expression.” Ruby looked around the room in bewilderment. Everyone else seemed to have the same position as Blake.

“Yeah. It is.”

“Weird. You people are weird.” Ruby shrugged and went back to stewing in the feeling of being full of delicious pancakes and bacon.

When Weiss got done with her morning business, Ruby went in and changed into her normal clothes so that Ren and Jaune could come join the party when they had an appropriate offering of pancakes, since Blake and Yang didn’t care about their state of dress.

“Weiiiiiiss, come cuddle me while I digest my food.” Ruby flopped into the communal bed and beckoned the aforementioned girl to her.

“With pleasure.” Weiss climbed in with far greater dexterity and wrapped herself around Ruby from behind. “So you have face blindness?”

“I guess.”

“Hmmm.” Ruby could feel the gears turning in Weiss’ head.

“What is it?”

“Something that it would be best only to discuss between the two of us at a later time.”

“Is it a romantic something or a serious something?”

“I would describe it as being neutral in nature. Less a matter of something wrong or important, and more simply something that you may not have realized. The realization could have a positive effect.” Weiss shrugged.

“Okay. Weird.” Ruby mentally shrugged and buried herself deeper into Weiss’ embrace.

After a few minutes of casual chatter that was drowned out in importance compared to the soothing sound of Weiss’ heartbeat, Ren and Jaune showed up with enough food for everyone else and Ruby reluctantly let Weiss go so that she could eat.

“So what are we even doing to celebrate?” Jaune looked over at Ruby from the table. “Aside from the obvious anyway?”

“I intend to use today as an opportunity to spend as much of the day in bed cuddling as possible, with absolutely no chance that Weiss will make me actually study and do some of my homework like she normally does even on saturdays.” Ruby wandered her way over to the table to watch Blake as they happily ate their own pancakes. “Thanks for the pancakes by the way you guys. It was like eating strawberries and a cookie at the same time.” 

“You’re welcome.” Ren nodded once.

“I will make up for what you weasel your way out of today tomorrow.” Weiss admonished.

“Sure, that’s tomorrow Ruby’s problem anyway.” Ruby shrugged. “I’m just here to be gay and do crimes today. Oh hey maybe we should do crimes. What are some good crimes?”

“We are absolutely not doing crimes to celebrate your birthday!” Weiss slammed her palm down on the table, making Ruby jump.

“No, not like actual crimes, I mean like in the sense of-because historically-uh Blake, do you get what I mean?”

“I think she means that because many kingdoms have historically criminalized queer relationships and identities we should deliberately act in defiance of that and do crimes by being ourselves and in love, in the same spirit as the original poster that came from, though probably not all of it.” Blake sipped at their tea once they finished explaining.

“That’s it!” Ruby shot finger guns at Blake in return for their helpfulness.

“Oh, well that’s all right then.” Weiss nodded approvingly. “Yes, that sounds like a very good idea indeed. Especially given certain machinations that are already underway.” She shot a knowing look at Blake.

“Yes. Though I suppose it will be time to discuss that matter as a group before Yang goes to that party.” Blake stared off into the distance with a thoughtful look on their face. “Still, that isn’t happening until evening. She’ll have plenty of time to mull it over before then if she opens her gifts after we’ve all finished breakfast.”

“Yang, do you know what they’re talking about?” Ruby was perplexed. It felt like Blake and Weiss were talking about her, but they were also talking about things she didn’t know anything about.

“They got you some sort of secret gift together that I’m not allowed to know about. It’s all very suspicious. Probably something to do with that.” Yang narrowed her eyes at the pair in question.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just deliberately hamming it up.” Weiss held out her hands placatingly. “Ultimately I’d say that it’s Ruby’s choice whether you ever find out what it is though, so be prepared for the possibility that you never find out.”

“Your sadistic side is simultaneously hot and going to be the death of me.” Yang rolled her eyes.

“Just be glad that it only ever shows up in competitions and matters of dramatic irony. As far as I know anyway.” Weiss grinned.

“You know what? Less talking, more eating! You’re making me want to open my presents already.” Ruby spurred on her friends, and then grabbed some more pancakes for herself.

Once they had finished eating Nora ran over to the JNPR dorm and returned with a pile of colorfully wrapped gifts. “Now this is the good shit!”

“Awwww yeah!” Ruby pulled out and extended Crescent Rose. “Everybody stand back!” 

With a mad cackle Nora tossed the presents into the air and in a flurry of slashes Ruby cut through the center of as many ribbons as possible. At the same time Weiss shrieked, Jaune accidentally tipped over his chair and almost fell over, only to be caught by a perfectly composed Pyrrha, Blake looked on in wonder, and Ren sat calmly and sipped tea as if nothing was happening.

When the presents hit the ground seven out of eight had had their ribbons perfectly cleaved. The last one she hadn’t been able to reach in time.

“Nice, seven success and no failures. That’s a new record.” Yang took a picture with her scroll.

“How could you not warn me about this!” Weiss poked her head up from under the table where she had crawled.

“This is why we told you to pack things like they were going to be tossed up in the air and slashed at with a scythe. It was a pretty obvious hint.” Ruby saw a tremble running through Weiss’ arm. “Sorry. I should have given you a real warning.” She ignored the gifts on the ground and crouched down next to her girlfriend. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, well, I suppose that was obvious in hindsight. Just actually warn everyone beforehand next time you want to do something like that, okay?”

“Promise.” Ruby gave Weiss a kiss on the cheek before going back to the array of gifts.

“You should open that one last. It’s the one from both of us.” Blake pulled Weiss into their lap and pointed at the one present that remained perfectly intact. It was a nondescript small rectangular box that gave no hint at it’s possible contents.

“Okay.” Ruby took the special present and set it next to Crescent Rose, once again folded, at her side despite the burning urge to open it right away.

All of her gifts were brilliant. Blake got her hair dye that matched the color of her cape and she resolved to dye the ends of her hair with it. Weiss got her a physical copy of Bloom Into You, and she resolved to make sure that all four of them watched that together. Yakuza from Yang was a gift that she knew would doom her to dozens of hours of being completely unaware of the outside world in the best possible way.

Then it came time for the last one of them all. One gift to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them. She pulled this bow apart carefully, almost reverently. Something about the way that Weiss and Blake looked at her as she ran her hands along the bottom of the box to find the seam in the wrapping paper encouraged her to take her time. When the paper caught and she tore it away it revealed a simple box with a lid that rested on top of it.

Blake gestured for Ruby to stop for a moment. “Now, before you look, understand that this is just a suggestion. You can say no, or maybe later, or yes, or any other response you may have, and that’s fine.”

Slowly, Ruby tore her eyes away from her partners and looked down at the box, taking a tentative hold of the lid as she prepared to take it off. What could possibly be in there? She couldn’t even begin to imagine. A breath that she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding left her lungs.

With another tentative glance at Blake and Weiss, Ruby lifted the front of the lid up so that only she would see what was inside. Inside of the box and nestled in foam was a pair of faux dog ears covered in black fur with splashes of red on the tips. “Whoa.” It was beautiful. Her mouth hung open as she stared in wonder, then swallowed nervously. “That’s quite the suggestion.”

“Is it too much?” Weiss looked concerned.

“No, I mean whoa like... whoa, that’s amazing. Just... give me a moment.” Ruby stared at the ears. She had thought about something like that plenty of times recently. But this, this was something that she could reach out and touch, not a fantasy. Just to be sure, she reached out and ran a hand along the fur. Yep, it was really there. And it was really soft.

Ruby thought about what it might be like to put them on and let Weiss and Blake pet her and cover her in affection and just let them handle all of the Things that had to be done for a while. It was intimidating in a way, but she wanted it. Actually wanted it, not just had a physical urge for it. “Yeah, I think I’d like to give that a shot.” Carefully, almost religiously, she closed the box and let it sit weightily in her lap.

“Alright.” Blake grinned. “We’ll talk more about that later then.”

“Holy shit.” Weiss was amazed as she turned to Blake. “Nice touch with the hair dye.”

“What on Remnant is going on?” Yang stared between the three of them.

“None of you five are allowed to know, and hopefully you will never know.” Ruby nodded solemnly.

“Y’know, I think I’m just going to try not to think too hard about it then.” Yang contemplated. “Yeah, that’s probably the best choice.”

“It probably is.”


	34. Interlude: The Source of All Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sitting on this chapter for like a week and I'm so glad I can finally post it

_Infernal vision I saw,  
Out from the darkness it came to me  
Angel in appalling form   
Revealing how the forthcoming days will be  
Her voice was hollow and calm   
As she told me of things that would soon be here  
Words full of chaos and death   
Filling my mind with a constant fear_

_There will be a gigantic war,  
The greater part of the world shall be perished  
Armies of evil and good   
Prepare to meet each other once again  
And there I saw myself   
Holding a sword with a blade so black  
On the other side to thousands of men,   
All we had was just a handful of puritans_

_Doom over the world  
Eternal will be our mission.  
Doom over the world!_

_Doom over the world  
Eternal will be our mission.  
Doom over the world!_  
-Reverend Bizarre, Doom Over the World

Cinder was bored. Rather than actually teach her how to use magic more effectively, Salem had wasted weeks just talking to her. Then, when the woman seemed convinced that nothing else she said was going to be effective, she was sent off to meditate on her own and attempt to identify “the source of all magic.” 

Supposedly, when she did figure out Salem’s ludicrous riddle they would return to their actual training. In the meantime, she had to admit that her hours spent setting her mind adrift in and attuning to the magical energies around her was improving her skills in its own way. She was becoming able to more easily read what Salem was doing when she used magic in the few instances that they sparred, and she felt able to call forth her power slightly more easily. It was becoming a dull and repetitive task however, one which she still did not properly understand the reasoning behind. 

So Cinder sighed as she sat cross-legged on a pillow in what had been designated as the meditation room by Salem’s order. She closed her eyes and immersed herself in the hidden world of energy that she drew upon when she used magic. The magical power was all around her, she had been able to feel it since Vale, when she had acquired her first taste of the maiden’s power. But now she was gaining the sensitivity to feel its status, she would almost describe it as an attitude, as if it were alive. Everywhere on Remnant was absolutely saturated with magic. It strained and crackled when she observed it, practically begging to be used.

There was the crux of the problem. How could something so vastly abundant and overflowing ever be traced to its source? There were no discernable sources from which it flowed outward, it was as abundant as grass, except more so. It simply flowed to and from everywhere at once. Once again, Cinder gave up on making heads or tails of what Salem was up to, and instead allowed her awareness to be carried away by the bright tides of magical energy that surrounded her.

The first time she had meditated correctly it had been a shock. She was separated from her body entirely and reflexively slammed herself back into it, gasping and shaking. Now it was peaceful, pleasant. Every time she found herself drifting a little bit deeper into the hidden folds of the world around her. Now, she let herself drift freely, no longer bothering to try to solve Salem’s riddle.

Strong currents bore her father and farther into the realm of the immaterial, through forests and rivers, cities and towns. She didn’t know how she knew that these places were the location of her perceptions, but she did. Today she could recognise that the magic surrounding each living thing was slightly different, an ineffable quality by some virtue of its existence. Then the currents turned inward, running below the ground, far deeper than anything lived. The streams became raging rivers, and then stopped.

Here was a divergence, a place where there should have been something, and yet was nothing, where elsewhere was what should have been less but was more. It beat, pulsated blackley, like the gaping void left behind when a still-beating human heart is ripped out of a chest. She could feel an absence, within herself and all magic on Remnant. Something essential, and gone. The world’s magic was stagnant, built up on itself with nowhere to flow like a clogged pipe. 

All this time, the world had been speaking to her, but now she was listening. And she understood what she was being told. Cinder finally understood what she was, and how it was that she had magic at all.

Cinder gasped, choked, and sputtered as she returned to herself. She could still distinctly feel the hole, as if it was reflected in her, though it was rapidly fading. With trembling legs, she stood up and made her way into the throne room, where she knew that Salem would be found.

Salem shot an intrigued glance at her as she entered the throne room without knocking, and she quickly emptied the room before turning to look expectantly at Cinder. “Why have you interrupted me?”

“I understand it. I can feel it, their absence. That they’ll never return, and how broken everything left behind in this world truly is.” Cinder took a knee in difference to Salem, not out of fear, but because she was grateful. She was grateful to be guided to this point. She truly understood her role in the world now.

“Good. And with this knowledge have you found your humility?”

“Yes.” Cinder did not wield magical power, she was simply it’s conduit. By becoming the maiden she had proven her worth, and been selected as one of the few remaining means of releasing the world’s magical energy. She would use that which she had been granted to wreck vengeance in the name of those who had been lost, both to her, and to the natural world.

“There is one more thing that you are not aware of. They are not gone forever. They can be restored. This is why I endeavor to collect the power of all four artifacts. They are the keys that will open up the door. And mankind shall be eternally wiped from the face of this world.” 

Tears of happiness formed in Cinder’s eyes and she moved to wipe them away, but Salem came to her and pulled her into her embrace.

“There, there, sweet child, don’t cry. Our work has only begun. It is time for your training to begin in earnest.” Salem rubbed her back as Cinder sobbed into her shoulder, releasing all her years of pain and hatred. 

She had found hope.


	35. Negotiation and Preparation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: I am just sitting on top of a huge pile of Chekhov's guns that could just go off at any time for like, no reason
> 
> The fact that there are people reading this leaving the wonderful comments that y'all do is utterly incredible to me and I love all of you
> 
> Also I really wasn't expecting to add kink negotiation as a tag on this fic but here we are I guess. I love it when my story develops in ways I wasn't even expecting or intending

_Listen to the ground  
There is movement all around  
There is something goin' down  
And I can feel it_

_On the waves of the air  
There is dancin' out there  
If it's somethin' we can share  
We can steal it_

_And that sweet city woman  
She moves through the light  
Controlling my mind and my soul  
When you reach out for me  
Yeah, and the feelin' is right_

_Then I get night fever, night fever  
We know how to do it  
Gimme that night fever, night fever  
We know how to show it_  
-The Bee Gees, Night Fever

After a hearty celebration in honor of Ruby’s birthday, Weiss was tired and stuffed with food. Team JNPR shuffled out with smiles on their faces in approximately the same state. It was now late afternoon, and Coco’s party would probably be starting soon, which would remove Yang from the room. But there was something else that needed to be discussed.

“We need to have a polycule talk.” Blake managed to gather up the energy to say it first. This was going to be a bit awkward.

“Oh boy, this is what I think it is, isn’t it?” Yang reluctantly seated herself in her bed.

“Yeah, we need to talk about sex and sex-adjacent activities.” Weiss couldn’t help glancing at Ruby as she said it, who seemed just as awkward as she currently felt.

“For three of us sex isn’t happening anytime in the immediate future, but for two of those three it is probably an inevitability that it comes up. We need to figure out how we as a polycule are going to handle it when it does. And if we do that now it makes it less likely for something unfortunate to happen because of a heat of the moment decision.” Blake looked around. “Any initial comments?”

“Look, I can put two and two together, whatever it is that you two got Ruby probably has something to do with an adjacent activity. You and I are going to have a talk later.” Yang gestured to Ruby. “But, my hang ups are irrational. I don’t want to see my baby sister growing up, and so I’m antsy about the knowledge that something is happening. It’s my problem, and I don’t want it to get in the way of you two making Ruby happy. I really, really don’t want to know anything beyond the fact that she’s safe and happy, and I trust that you’re going to make sure of that yourselves. So I guess what I’m saying is I’m cool with people doing whatever things they like with each other, as long as I don’t end up walking in on them. If two or three of us want some privacy alone in a room at some point, it’s best to just say that. We all understand the implications, and if someone is uncomfortable with them for some reason I’d hope that they would speak up.”

“Yeah, I don’t feel a need to know exactly what each of us is up to. Letting each other do their things in private whenever they ask seems like a good way to handle it. Although it might be fun to chat about details that aren’t sister-related with each other.” Weiss agreed. The idea of Blake and Yang having sex didn’t bother her, in fact she was reasonably sure that she would be delighted for them. 

“I’d really rather not know anything I don’t have to either, so that sounds good.” Ruby nodded. 

“That’s an approach that I find preferable as well.” Blake settled themself into bed next to Ruby. “I suppose that we’re all in agreement then?” 

A chorus of further affirmations resolved the issue, prompting Yang to stand up. “Alright, I’m going to prepare for the party with Nora, so you three feel free to do your thing, text me when I’m clear to come back.” With one last nervous glance around the room she waved and closed the door, locking it behind her. 

“Soooo, now what?” Ruby looked expectantly at Weiss. 

“Now we need to talk about what exactly you expect out of this.” Weiss sat on Ruby’s free side and held her hand. 

“Right. What I expect. Well, um. Y’know, pet play. You treat me like I’m your pet. Take care of me and give me attention and cuddle and stuff.” Ruby stumbled her way through her words. 

“I’m glad you understand, but what Weiss means is that we need you to tell us what your limits and your expectations are. More specifically, some things to address are: what kinds of touching are okay? What are our safe words? Do you want us to have you do things for us or only give you affection? What sorts of things would that be? How feral are you? What do you want to call us? What should we call you? What exactly is the power dynamic here?” Blake put a hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “If you need time to think about these things it doesn’t need to happen tonight. We can always just use this time to discuss things for later.” 

“I don’t think that’s gonna be necessary. I’ve thought a lot about most of these things, it’s just there’s so much I don’t know how to start. You asking questions helps. Although I actually already forgot a bunch of them. Could you write them down and then we’ll talk about each of them?” Ruby seemed much less overwhelmed with concrete things to respond to. 

“That’s a good idea.” Blake went over to their desk and pulled out an empty notebook. They took a minute to write down what they had said and passed it to Weiss, along with a pen. “Anything you want to add?” 

Weiss scanned the relatively short list. “Looks like a good start to me. I’m sure there’s a lot we’re going to have to figure out along the way as well. I can think of one more thing to ask about right now though, and a few for later. ‘Who do you want to put on your ears.’ There could be a difference between putting it on yourself is putting it on you.” 

“What are you talking about?” Ruby took the list from Weiss. 

“There are often differences in how we perceive the meanings of our actions. For example, the use of a collar in pet play is common, but personally, I would consider being given a collar by one or more of my partners to be a commitment comparable to what the straights think of marriage. Furthermore, I would expect it to be of a very high quality, excessively expensive by your standards even.” Weiss knew that she wouldn’t say yes if the three of them were to make such an offer today, but she wouldn’t say no either.

“Is that some sort of subtle hint?” Blake tilted their head as they stared at Weiss.

“No, the subtle hint is that all three of you are free to use my credit card for both essential and nonessential matters if you should ever desire, though I’m sure that you and Yang are proud enough that you’ll refuse to.” Weiss rolled her eyes. 

“I see. What interesting information. We should focus on the matter at hand though.” Blake smiled playfully before turning back to Ruby. “What are your thoughts?”

“I’ll work my way down this in order.” Ruby leaned more heavily against Weiss as she read. “Nonsexual touching, so no crotch or chest, wherever else is fine. I’d like to touch both of you the same way, including under clothes, though I think that you have a feel, don’t look policy, Blake?” Blake nodded. “I’m good with using red/yellow/green as safewords. I don’t want tasks or something, but I want to know what I’m supposed to be doing at any given moment, even if it’s staying still. I don’t really intend to use my words to communicate, except for safe words, and I think I will crawl around if I move. Maybe try to bark if I’m really getting into it. You can call me Rosie. I’m not really sure what to think of you two as. Owner is a title that I’d like to use for one of you, but I need a second one to distinguish between you.”

“What if you thought of me as your Queen?” Weiss ventured. She had to admit that ice queen was a very good nickname, even if she needed to refute its use as a matter of principle.

“Whoa.” Ruby stared at her with wonder. “That’s uh... that’s a really good one.”

“Mighty full of yourself, aren’t you, your majesty?” Blake looked down at Weiss with a cocked eyebrow.

“Whoa there Blake. No competing with each other. I consider those titles to be equal, okay?” Ruby pulled Blake’s attention back to her.

“Very well. That’s acceptable.” Blake nodded.

“Okay, and then there’s the question of power dynamic. That one is trickier. I want to be submissive. There should be an expectation that I will obey you because you have power over me. And an expectation that if I disobey I’ll be punished, though not actually... yet. I guess that I’m saying that I want to give myself over to you, y’know?” Ruby squirmed and pulled her shoulders in towards her body nervously as she looked between her partners.

It was just beginning to dawn on Weiss what a responsibility this was. She didn’t have a preference for the dominant role, so she’d never thought of things from this point of view before. It was intimidating, what Ruby said. Yet thrilling, and heartwarming. That she trusted them that much.

“Good, that’s what I guessed, but I wanted to let you say it.” Blake pat Ruby’s head.

“Are you experienced with kink Blake? You seem really competent.” Weiss intertwined her finger with Ruby’s.

“I’ve learned a lot from Coco, but no, no experience with correctly executed kink.” Blake shrugged.

That phrase, correctly executed kink, was far too specific. Weiss was concerned, but it was probably best not to inquire. If she ever got her hands on Adam...

“Weiss? You look angry about something.” Blake waved their hand in front of her face.

“Just a stray thought. Nothing to do with what we’re doing.” Weiss brushed the hand away. “Where were we?”

“Um, last thing on the list. Who puts the ears on me? I’d like to let you two do it.” Ruby smiled up at them.

“I for one would be delighted to do so. Blake?”

“Agreed.” Blake beamed down at Ruby. “The last matter I can think to discuss is aftercare.” 

“I don’t know what to do for aftercare here. I mean normally aftercare is cuddling and reassurance, but cuddling is pretty much what we’ll have been doing anyway.” Ruby shrugged. “And it won’t be physically tiring, I think. So I’m not really sure what I would need.”

“We should probably make an effort to use each other’s names to get out of the mindset of the scene, and beyond that, I expect that you’ll need attention as you’re coming down, but yes, it should be fairly simple. Still essential though.” Blake looked around. “I’d like to have water on hand as well, mostly for the physiological effect that it can have. I’ll also need to know how I did. I may not look like it but I am rather anxious that I may do something wrong.”

“Yeah, me too. Even though this is really low risk and nonsexual, I just... I dearly don’t want to do anything wrong, because I just love you so much and...” Weiss suddenly wrapped her arms around Ruby and buried her head in her shoulder.

“There, there, Weiss. I’m sure you’re going to do great.” Ruby gently patted Weiss’ back.

“Let’s go ahead and eat dinner before we go any farther. It’ll give us a nice opportunity to relax and talk about something else for a while.” Blake came up and hugged Weiss from the other side. “Whenever you feel like it.”

“Mmmm.” Weiss burrowed her way further into Ruby’s embrace. She wasn’t used to feeling so needy. Things about her emotional needs had been slightly changing lately, likely thanks to being on hormones, as well as in a relationship. She felt everything so much more than she had before. Maybe now that they had all had the talk that they had had she should talk to Yang or Blake about doing something similarly intimate. She wasn’t sure what. 

Eventually, how hungry Weiss was started overwhelming how touch starved she was. “Dinner sounds good.” She stretched herself out and climbed out of bed. 

The dining hall was functionally empty, save a skeleton crew there to fulfill the most minimal obligation of food service in the form of gouda cheeseburgers and fries. 

“While I’m pleasantly surprised by the use of an actually good cheese, havarti would have been a clearly superior choice.” Weiss mused as she ate.

“Are you ever not picky about food?” Blake poured copious amounts of mustard on their burger. 

“I am not picky. I am always thinking about ways in which a given dish could be improved, but I still enjoy that dish.” Weiss huffed. “My standards are high because I love good food, though I can never seem to find fault with the food we make ourselves.”

“Sounds to me like you just can’t get enough of the best secret ingredient we’ve got, love.” Ruby wriggled her eyebrows tauntingly. 

“Hush now, just think of what would happen if the public were to discover that I’m as much of a love struck fool as I am.” 

“You mean that they might realize that you’re a sub if you let go of your bitchy facade?” Blake prodded. 

“I am most likely less than hours away from domming Ruby with you. I am clearly a switch.” Weiss crossed her arms in front of her. She knew she wasn’t. 

“Nope, you’re a bratty sub who’s girlfriend managed to talk her into being in charge of some soft stuff.”

“Look, just because you’re correct doesn’t mean you’re right.”

“Admit it, I’ve got you pegged.” 

“You’ve never pegged me in your life.”

“That can be corrected.” 

Weiss’ enjoyment of the moment sputtered to a complete stop. She had not meant it that way. “I don’t care for that term to be applied to me.” 

“Ah, sorry.” Blake went back to eating, having killed the mood for the moment. 

“I’d like to take a short walk after this, I think.” Weiss hoped that she would find a way to get back into a good mood along the way. 

“Walkies?” Ruby jokingly tilted her head and let her tongue loll out the way Zwei’s did when someone mentioned food, causing Blake and Weiss to burst out laughing. 

“Well, well, well, looks like someone is already getting some practice for later.” Blake stood up with a smile once they had stopped laughing, their eyes flicking appraisingly between Weiss and Ruby. “Walkies it is then.” 

The weather outside was just beginning to develop the occasional evening chill in the air, and the three of them made a point of clinging to each other for body heat as they strolled through the gardens. Many of the flowers were gone or wilting, but as they made their way through the area that had the most roses, they saw a single white rose still out and about.

“Come look, there’s a ladybug on it. Like our team attack name.” Ruby whispered excitedly and gestured for them to come as she crouched down in front of the rose.

As Weiss crouched down next to Ruby in tandem with Blake, she could have sworn that she felt a pleasant warmth radiating from the scar over her eye, much as she had when she had first earned it. There was indeed a single ladybug perched on the rose, eating an aphid. “This has got to be some sort of sign.” She felt a strange peace settling over them.

For a long moment all three of them just stared, the spell broken only when the ladybug flew off with its meal in its belly.

“Hey, let’s go back to the room.” Ruby entwined her fingers with those of the two people next to her. They nodded.


	36. Rosie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the official playlist for the story, that has every song I quote and some of the ones I will later 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1WATVqIHOOihgW2EE48YRT

_Everyday I take her out, yeah  
She runs around and she shouts out and barks, yeah  
'Cause she's a good doggie  
She's a sweet, sweet, sweet puppy  
And I know she'll stick by me, yeah_  
-The B52s, Quiche Lorraine

An anticipatory tension filled Blake as they returned to the dorm hand in hand with Ruby and Weiss. Previously, it had been nervousness or uncertainty, but now it was happening and they somehow felt that they were ready. They were silent as they arrived, and Ruby immediately made her way to her personal storage, retrieving the dog ears.

With a small flourish, Ruby handed them over to Blake who took a moment to study them more closely. Weiss really had made an excellent choice, they were just detailed enough to be beautiful, without quite being too realistic. The faint streaks of a red like roses were a fantastic highlight to the black, hopefully faux, fur. They smiled at Weiss when she took one side in her own hands, they would put the ears on together.

Ruby climbed up to the edge of the bed and waited there on her hands and knees. For a moment she closed her eyes and took a single deep breath, concentrating. “Let’s go.” She looked back up, silver orbs wide with anticipation.

“Ready?” Blake took one last look at Weiss, who nodded, and they stepped forward and slipped the accessory onto Ruby’s head. 

Rosie shivered as they did, and then rolled over onto her back with a dopey look on her face. Her hands pawed at the air as she stared reverently at Blake. She yipped once.

A gentle smile grew on Blake’s face as they stared down and took Rosie’s hands in her own, then shook them about playfully. “Why hello there Rosie, you’re a very cute pup.”

Meanwhile Weiss took a seat on the bed next to Rosie, and started to gently scratch her belly. “Who’s a good girl? Who’s a good girl? Is it you? Yes it is!” Rosie’s shirt rode up slightly, leading Weiss to scratch the soft skin of her belly directly.

The look in Rosie’s eyes was one of absolute bliss as Weiss gave her belly rubs, she was enjoying herself so much that her tongue lolled out for the second time that evening. 

Blake climbed into the bed as well and took a seat with their legs crossed such that Rosie’s head was in their lap. They scratched under her chin, and as they did she licked their hand affectionately. A laugh bubbled up from their chest and they cradled her head gently in their lap. “That’s right, just relax and enjoy yourself. Good pup. Your owner’s gonna take good care of you.” Referring to themself in the third person was unexpectedly enjoyable. It was thrilling and empowering to acknowledge their role. 

They kept praising Rosie and running their hands lovingly over her body. The more into it she got the more affectionate she was with her tongue, though all she could reach from her current position was parts of Blake’s hand and arm. They decided to do something about that. 

“Up girl, up.” Blake commanded Rosie to her feet, and Weiss stopped playing with her belly to allow it. Then they laid next to her and held out their arms. “Come.” 

Rosie quickly pounced on top Blake and started licking their face. Her tongue was rough and wet, leaving trails of cool saliva behind as it lovingly slathered them with attention. At their side Weiss looked on with a bemused expression, perfectly happy to let them take the brunt of Rosie’s affection. 

“Ahhaha!” Blake laughed as they clasped their palms against Rosie’s cheeks in an unspoken command and she stilled, looking at them with anticipation. They took their turn to kiss her on the forehead, then each of her cheeks, then kissed her on the lips.

After a few seconds Rosie deepened the kiss, leaning heavily over Blake as her tongue pushed forward eagerly. They pushed back, shifting a hand to the back of her head to remind her who was in charge. There was a happy whimper as she submitted to the deeper kiss and they lazily claimed her mouth. 

As the kiss escalated Blake realized that Rosie was slowly grinding her crotch against their thigh, which they didn’t mind, but did find confusing. They ended the kiss quickly. “Yellow.” 

Ruby quickly sat up in Blake’s lap and stopped grinding. “What’s up?” 

“Why were you humping my leg? I’m not against it, but I am confused about what it means and what I’m supposed to do about it.” 

“Oh.” Ruby looked embarrassed. “I uhh... I didn’t realize I was doing that. I’ll try not to, but I think it’s because I’m finding this really erotic and it’s sort of hard to contain. As long as it’s okay that I’m doing it could you just ignore it for now?” 

“Okay, I’m fine with that. Weiss?” 

“I’ll do the same.” Weiss nodded. 

“Alright, is everyone doing well?” Blake looked around and saw nods. “Okay Ruby, close your eyes and get back into your headspace, I’m going to greenlight us and then we’ll resume when you open your eyes. Good?”

“Yup.” Ruby closed her eyes.

“Green.” 

For a moment that felt long, but probably wasn’t, Blake watched. Rosie took a deep breath, and let it out ever so slowly. She opened her eyes, that dopey grin once again growing on her face as she seemed to revel in the feeling of submission.

“Come here girl.” Weiss held her arms open this time, grinning, no doubt at the prospect of having a needy, affectionate, obedient Ruby on top of her. Who was Blake to get in the way of that?

Rosie pounced Weiss the same way that she had Blake, though this time it was far more handsy of an affair, even before they started making out. Weiss also happily let Rosie take the lead in their sloppy kisses. Queen indeed.

Watching was very enjoyable in it’s own way, it let Blake take the time to appreciate the finer details of the way that their girlfriends were enjoying each other’s company. Such as the way that Rosie occasionally wriggled her butt as if it were a tail, or the sweet sounds of enjoyment that Weiss sometimes let slip. 

Rather than sit passively, Blake decided to hop in and planted light kisses along the back of Rosie’s neck. Their right hand made its way along Weiss’ belly, trailing their nails lightly up and down in a repeating pattern. 

As very enthusiastic moans started to slip from their mouths, Blake realized it might be best to slow things down a little bit. They knew that Weiss lacked self-control under circumstances like this, and expected that Rosie would as well, with her inexperience. “Rosie, heel.”

The pup in question obeyed quickly enough, pulling herself together as she perched next to Weiss, rather than on top of her, with her eyes on Blake. She was fidgeting though, her hips rocked from side to side and she looked uncomfortable.

“Yellow. Ruby, you look uncomfortable.” Blake looked at Ruby with concern, and she frowned in confusion.

“I... oh. Whoa.” Ruby looked down in surprise as she suddenly clenched her thighs together. “This is making me _really_ aroused. This... is too much.”

Weiss quickly moved to slide the dog ears off of Ruby’s head. “Go take care of that in the bathroom and come back for aftercare.”

“Yeah.” Ruby grimaced and ran off into the bathroom in a hurry.

Two silent gazes followed her departure, interrupted only when Weiss hesitantly questioned Blake. “Was that a mistake?”

That was a difficult question. “I don’t think so. I think that her discomfort is purely physical, and that what we were doing was acceptable. Hope so, anyway. But, it’s okay either way, because if we made a mistake it doesn’t seem like it was too major to be able to talk through and figure out. It is concerning that she didn’t seem to realize that she was uncomfortable at first, we may need to keep an especially close eye on her if we do this again in the future.”

“Hmmm.” 

There was an uncomfortable silence that was only broken by Ruby’s muffled moans of pleasure. Blake wished that she had at least turned on the shower to mask the noise.

For a few minutes Weiss and Blake awkwardly went about their own business. Apparently, even if Ruby seemed to have no intention of directly engaging in sexual activity, she didn’t seem to mind making noise that they could hear, or maybe she was just too pent up to care.

The slightly disheveled Ruby that came in and subsequently out of the bathroom seemed much more content than she had been before. She strolled her way back into bed, where she cuddled up to Blake right away. “Weiss, come’ere.” She extended her arms as they wrapped their own around her.

Like a once-startled cat, Weiss picked her way across the short distance between them and slowly slid into Ruby’s arms. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.” Ruby kissed Weiss’ forehead. “Everything that you two did was great. I just got a little bit overwhelmed with it all. I think I’d like to build up a tolerance though.” She grinned shyly.

“Really Ruby. Are you okay?” Blake couldn’t help but suspect Ruby was pulling a Yang. In fact, Yang may have been pulling a Yang earlier when she said that she was fine with this. It was a worrying thought, but at this point it was in all likelihood something that the two of them would need to resolve with each other, and Yang had already said that she was going to talk to Ruby, so it should be fine.

“Really.” Ruby took hold of Blake’s hand. “You were wonderful, I really enjoyed myself, and I don’t regret anything that happened. Now that I’ve let off some steam I feel really relaxed and very happy.”

“Good.” Blake’s heart swelled as some unspoken tension that had been sitting with them dispelled. They intertwined their fingers with Ruby’s. “Is there anything else in particular that you feel you need now that we’re here? Anything at all?”

“Well, I guess some cookies would be nice. And more cuddling, lots of it.” Ruby buried herself into Blake’s chest, less awkwardly than usual thanks to the fact that they were wearing a binder today.

“I have a stash.” Weiss volunteered herself to retrieve them while Ruby was distracted. “I’m sure I will have to change its location soon however, you irredeemable cookie thief.” 

“I’m surprised we didn’t think to have cookies on hand in the first place. You might as well get her some milk with them too, make sure she stays hydrated.” Blake stroked Ruby’s back. She started nibbling affectionately at their neck in response.

“You are so bloody cute Ruby. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to resist doing anything to make you happy.” Weiss reluctantly poured a glass of milk, then returned with it and some cookies, putting them on the nightstand to rain gentle kisses down on the back of Ruby’s neck.

“Thanks Weiss.” Ruby hugged the small plastic bag of chocolate chip cookies to her chest before pulling one out and wolfing it down, then taking a swig of milk. “This was really really nice, and I hope we can do it again.”

“I know I’d be willing to, though I think that there are a few more things we need to figure out first.” Blake had some ideas for things that may help Ruby, though many of them would likely best be held off until she had figured out what she was comfortable to a greater degree.

“Let’s talk about that later, I just wanna snuggle.”

“Agreed.” Blake had to put forth effort to avoid falling asleep as they hugged a very happy and peaceful Ruby to their chest and just lay there. 

Eventually however, Blake started to wonder if they were keeping Yang up, even if she was the type to be at a party late into the night. They had no idea what time it was at this point. “Should we let Yang know that she can come back if she wants to?”

“Yeah, that’d be okay.” Ruby yawned and wrapped some blankets around herself and Blake. “I think I’m gonna sleep.”

“Which means that I must take care of the lights and let Yang know before I can join in on the nightly cuddling.” Weiss sighed in disappointment as she got up. “Very well, I must admit that I still need to take my meds as well.”

“You’d bet-ahh, ahhh.” Blake’s response turned into a yawn, which turned into them maneuvering their head onto a pillow. The nerves of the buildup to this evening's activities had been more emotionally tiring than they had expected. 

Ruby further advanced Blake’s sleepiness by reaching up to the top of their head and carefully running a finger along the sensitive inside of their ear, making it twitch and sending shivers of relaxation down their spine.

Before Weiss had managed to even return to bed, Blake drifted off to sleep With Ruby wrapped around their arm.

###### 

At some point in the night, Yang appeared to have come in and collapsed on top of the bed, the living heater of a woman not even bothering to utilize the blankets, despite the chilly evening. 

When they awoke to see the big brawler sprawled across all three of the bed’s other occupants, Blake curiously poked her in the forehead, but she was out like a light. They could still smell alcohol on her breath. It could be perfectly normal behavior for Yang, she was known to enjoy drinking for fun, unlike Weiss or Ruby. But they still couldn’t help being unsettled by the thought that Yang may have been drowning her sorrows because they and Weiss were alone with her sister.

Blake used a shadow clone that slowly dispersed once they had gotten up to try and avoid waking up any of their sleeping teammates. They poured a glass of cool water and put it next to the nightstand for Yang when she woke up, and then began brewing tea for themself and Weiss. Ordinarily Weiss woke up first and made them tea, but they were glad to have an opportunity to do it for her. Especially after Weiss wound up doing a fair bit of legwork after the scene with Ruby and they had just been cuddling. More than that though, it gave them an opportunity to cook with a certain secret ingredient.

“Someone appears to be quite energetic today.” Weiss hugged Blake from behind and let her head rest against their back as they were in the process of finishing the tea. 

“Just wanted to do something special for my sweet Weiss cream.” Blake set the kettle to the side and turned around to scoop Weiss up into a good morning kiss. “But how are _you_ doing after last night?”

“Every time I look at Ruby I can not help but smile.” Weiss snuck a glance at the still-sleeping girl in question as she said it. “And I enjoyed myself in more ways than one, which lead me to be certain that I am in fact a switch.” She glared at Blake with a challenge in her eyes.

“If you say so.” Blake shrugged nonchalantly. Secretly, they found that they were in fact quite interested in the idea of Weiss being a switch. 

Blake made a point of pouring Weiss’ tea first, leaving it plain the way she liked it. “For your Majesty, miss Ice Queen the Third.” Weiss glared as they presented the cup, but accepted it anyway. They then prepared their own tea, with just a dash of cream.

“This... is superior to what I make.” Weiss stared at her tea in awe.

“It’s my secret ingredient.” Blake winked.

“Don’t you dare say love.”

“Love.”

"I hate you." Nevertheless, Weiss kept drinking her tea.


	37. Strawberry Sunrise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the story's spotify playlist again in case you missed it because I edited it in a few hours late last chapter
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1WATVqIHOOihgW2EE48YRT
> 
> I think I’m going to try to switch to a weekly update schedule for now because there are so many things that I want to read and I just bought some games at the Steam Summer Sale

Yang sighed as the sun soaked into her bones. It was one of those perfect fall days where the air was chilled, but only just enough that the sun’s presence warmed her wonderfully as she lay in the grass in a t-shirt and shorts. That must have been what it felt like to be a lizard. The sun was at its zenith, and her hangover from the morning was gone, it should have been a perfect moment.

But of course there was still the reason why she had felt the need to get drunk at Coco’s party in the first place last night. Ruby. And Weiss and Blake. Whatever it was that they had done together.

So Yang had decided to wait out her hangover in the great outdoors, given that it was such a nice day. She definitely needed some time to think away from Weiss, Blake, and Ruby. It was about time that she faced the fact that Ruby was an adult in an adult relationship. What the hell was she even supposed to do with that information? Knowing it didn’t do anything, it had to be processed, accepted. She didn’t want to do that. She didn’t want to lose the little sister whose bullies Yang had beat up, who was constantly forgetting to bring her lunch with her to school, and who had come to Yang a few days after she had given her best attempt at The Talk and admitted with tears in her eyes that no, she didn’t feel that way at all, was there something wrong with her.

Ruby had been Yang’s rock. No matter what happened, she would be there rambling about heroes and fighting grimm and her latest invention and tinkering about with reckless abandon. Every other member of her family had only ever changed for the worse. Raven left, mom died, Qrow started drinking, and their dad had just lost a part of himself somewhere in the middle of it all.

“Hey sis.” Ruby laid down in the grass next to Yang, staring at the clouds. Yang had asked her to come, because otherwise there was no way that she was going to be able to walk into a room with Ruby and start this conversation herself.

For an amount of time that Yang had no meaningful way to measure, they just lay there, without saying anything. Ruby seemed content to lay and stare at the sky. It was a shocking new development on its own that she would find the patience for something like that. Though she probably had a lot to think about as well, normally Ruby needed music or something to do with her hands while she thought. More changes.

“Soooo... I hate that I can’t think of any way to say this that isn’t an innuendo, but Blake and Weiss, they took good care of you last night?” A slight exhale of amusement at the utter ridiculousness of the situation and the best phrasing that Yang had been able to think of followed the question.

“Yeah, they did.” Ruby’s voice sounded wistful as she kept her gaze on the clouds. “I feel a lot better about some things now. I can have an opportunity to stop being the leader who has to be worrying about everyone and trying really hard to make sure she’s doing well in classes, and instead just... be. Like, be present and live in the moment, just for a little bit. Sort of like you.”

“Good. I guess that as long as you’re okay and they’re treating you well I can’t object. Even though I want to.” Yang squeezed her eyes shut, she couldn’t bear to look at Ruby. “It feels like I’m losing you, even though I know I’m not. You’ve grown so much since we came here, and I see you getting more confident, and improving your academic skills without me, and you just don’t need me anymore. So what’s there to keep us together?” Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. “You could always just go off on your own with Weiss and Blake at any moment.”

“Yang, we could never do something like that. We need you, _I_ still need you.” Ruby rested her hand on top of Yang’s fist, which had clenched and torn a handful of grass from the ground. “It takes Weiss reminding me every day to keep up with all of my homework, but you’re the one who really motivates me to get it done and not lie so that I can put it off. Because I know you’d be disappointed if I did. It’s still so easy for me to forget to why I walked somewhere, and the leave, then remember and go back, but then realize that I left behind something I needed to do the thing I was trying to do and I have to go get it but I forget what I was doing again and it just goes on and on and on and... well I forgot what I was trying to say. But the point is that you’re important too Yang, and that’s never changing!”

“Oh.” Yang opened her eyes. She looked around her. She let Ruby’s words sink into her, doing her best to accept them. She pulled Ruby over to her and into a hug, no longer holding back her tears. “Thanky you Ruby. I wish I could believe you.”

“I’m just gonna have to beat you over the head with it until you do then you big dummy. And I’ll make sure Weiss and Blake do too.” Ruby playfully bonked Yang on the side of the head without ending their embrace. “Alright? Nobody’s going anywhere, we’re sticking here with you, and that’s not changing.”

“I hope not.” Yang had no idea how she would handle it if she ended up being left alone.

###### 

The first order of business upon getting back to their dorm was to eat something. Yang hadn’t felt like eating when she woke up that morning, so she got around to cooking a package of macaroni and cheese. 

Ruby had left Yang alone in the dorm with Weiss and Blake, saying that she was going to hang out with Jaune, but she probably actually just wanted to giver Yang some time alone with them, since she had last night. Not in the same fashion of course, but still, quality time. 

As Yang was stirring the cheese powder into the buttered pasta, she realized that this could be an excellent learning opportunity. “Hey Weiss, come over here, there’s something I’d like to teach you.”

“What could you possibly have to teach me about pasta?” Weiss approached with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity.

“You hear this?” Yang used her spoon to stir the macaroni and cheese, making a distinct squelching sound.

“Yes.” 

“That’s what good pussy sounds like.”

Across the room Blake briefly looked up from their book, but determined that complaint was not necessary.

“I... do not know what to do with this information.” Weiss bared her teeth in a smirk as a sudden thought struck her. “Unless you are implying that it may have some imminent relevance?”

“It was intended as sage girlfriendly advice, thanks to the lack of experience in such matters that I’m sure you have, but if you have an interest...” Yang quirked an eyebrow.

“Not for a time yet, though I suppose that I have begun to notice certain changes lately, which may be encouraging my interest.” The bottom of Weiss’ lip caught between her teeth as she stared at Yang like a shark eyeing a fish. 

“Just for future reference, how do you feel about uh... Myrternaster?” Yang wet her lips. She enjoyed the way that Weiss was staring. 

“Do not name my sword after my sword. Myrternaster is a graceful, elegant, and refined instrument of pain and death, while _that_ is nothing more or less than a bothersome and clumsy inconvenience.” Weiss rolled her eyes and took a seat at the table to watch Yang eat straight out of the pot she had boiled the water in. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned it.” Yang dug into her pasta. After a few bites she paused, the spoon hovering indecisviley in fron of her mouth as she debated saying something. “Weiss, why do you like me?”

“What manner of preposterous question is that?” Weiss glared at Yang, studying the uncertainty in her eyes, then softened. “Yang, you are a brilliant, caring and courageous person, with a heart of gold and abs of steel. Your puns and your upbeat attitude are the heart of this team, and you endlessly tortue me in the best way possible. How could I not like you?”

Yang squirmed under Weiss’ heartfelt reassurance. “Sometimes I get really worried that I’m going to just get left behind again. I know it doesn’t make sense but...” she trailed off, unable to find the words communicate why kept thinking that she was going to be abandoned. 

“I get it.” Weiss stared vacantly at a point on the table. “Sometimes I feel like I’m not worth being around and don’t deserve to be cared for.” 

“That’s not true.”

“I know it isn’t. Doesn’t change anything.” Weiss shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Yang nodded. She dropped her spoon and it clatered noisily onto the table. She didn’t feel like eating anymore. 

“Alright, enough of that. Yang, eat.” At some point Blake had appeared behind Yang, and their tone left no room to object to their orders. 

“Okay.” As Yang ate, Blake wrapped their arms around her from behind and let their lips rest against her ear.

“You are the best partner I could have ever met in the Emerald Forest, and we’re never leaving you, okay? We’ll stick around until you’re so damn old you start having to dye your hair blond, you aren’t going to be able to get rid of us.” 

Yang gasped in mock shock. “How dare you imply that such a thing might happen?”

“Trying to get rid of us?”

“Me dying my hair! I’m a Xaio Long damnit, I’m never going to turn gray. You’d look pretty badass with gray hair though.” Yang turned her head and gave Blake a quick kiss before turning back to her lunch, she was hungry again.

“That’s more like it. Now it’s your turn Weiss.” Blake picked up the despondent Weiss from her chair and carried her over to the bed, where they whispered something in her ear and then shortly after began a makeout session, providing Yang with lunch and a show.

Once Yang had cleaned up after herself, she joined Blake and Weiss. They lay in bed kissing and cuddling. Every once in a while Blake reassured them with intimately whispered words. Yang found herself wishing Ruby was here too, it was the kind of moment that she wanted all four of them to be able to share. 

It was a good thing to be more accepting of Ruby’s part in the relationship, Yang decided. Everything that she guessed might be happening away from her presence felt more okay now. She thought about Ruby being in the same position that she was now, and it was comforting that Blake and Weiss were there, in this relationship with both sisters. She was glad they were all dating each other. Somewhere, something had just clicked.

So Yang sent Ruby a text inviting her to come back to the dorm in the event that she was just trying to give Yang alone time as she suspected, because she didn’t want it. It was far better to be reminded of how happy Blake and Weiss made Ruby, than just hogging them for herself. 

Was this what compersion was like? Maybe. Blake had explained the term along with others, and Yang had thought that was the enjoyment she’d been having of watching Blake and Weiss be together. But this was different. From a distant point of view it seemed odd that she’d be glad about Ruby dating their partners along with her, but well, she’d be happy, genuinely delighted for Ruby is things had turned out with everyone paired up monogamously. So why not be even more delighted about Ruby’s place their big team polycule?

And when Ruby did return, Yang was delighted. “Ruby!” She scooped Ruby into a proper, energetic hug. “I’m glad you’re here. And that you’re _here,_ if you know what I mean.”

“No, not really.” Ruby smiled as she returned the hug.

“I’m glad you’re here, with us, dating Blake and Weiss and they’re helping you cope with some things, and that I can be a part of it and that you’re my sister and just...” Yang gestured to the world around her. ”Everything.”

“That’s great!” Ruby continued the hug even as Yang let go.

“Yeah, it is.” Yang smiled and patted Ruby’s head. She really hadn’t talking with Ruby anywhere near as much as she probably should have been about all of this, but it was out there now, and everyone was doing so much to reassure her, and it was working.

Ruby and Yang rejoined Blake and Weiss in bed, andthey returned to their canoodling the right way, with all of them present. Being around Ruby while she was being romantic with the others was a good thing, where before Yang had been averting her gaze, she was glad to see them be happy in each other’s embrace. It was wonderful.

Later, as they started to simply lay there, Blake stared at the ceiling and held out their hand to the sky, lost in thought.

“I think I’m getting closer to being able to talk about some stuff. With Adam. It’s stressful, and it’s not quite there yet, but I need to tell someone eventually. Laying here with all of you, it feels so far away, almost like a dream. But that’s probably just repression.” Blake sighed, and let their arm fall across Yang’s torso. “Things got so horrible.” Their voice was soft, but it didn’t waver.

“We’ll be here whenever you’re ready.” Yang clasped her hands gently around the arm she had been given, cradling it to her chest. “And we’ll stick around after.” Repeating one of the same assurances that she had heard that very same day brought a small smile to her face.

“I know.” Blake buried their entire head in the space beneath Yang’s arms. Then they looked up and her and blepped expectantly.

“Ear rubs?” Yang chuckled.

“Need.” Blake’s ears wriggled temptingly.

“Okay, okay.” Yang trailed her hands up Blake’s neck and caressed their soft cat ears. They really were just so adorable like this. Then they started purring, and she realized that she could easily go at it for hours.

Meanwhile, Ruby was contentedly cuddling Weiss, letting the smaller girl rub her back at the same time. It was sweet, and Yang was glad that she had finally figured out how she could enjoy this moment. These were the best moments of them all, after all. Just her, and the three people she loved most in the world, except maybe Tai, but she would never cuddle him.


	38. Adventures in Archaeology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so I know I said that I was going to upload weekly instead of whenever I finished each chapter, but I don't have the willpower. Oops. Next chapter will probably take a while to write anyway, it's probably going to be the hardest chapter to write so far. You'll see why. At the same time I'm pretty sure it's going to be hella dope. So, hype for that
> 
> Much thanks to my beta reader, Sath

_Man alone, born of stone  
Will stamp the dust of time  
His hands strike the flame of his soul;  
Ties a rope to a tree and hangs the Universe  
Until the winds of laughter blows cold_

_Fear that rattles in men's ears  
And rears its hideous head!  
Dread, death in the wind_

_Man of steel pray and kneel  
With fever's blazing torch  
Thrust in the face of the night;  
Draws a blade of compassion  
Kissed by countless kings  
Whose jeweled trumpet words blind his sight_

_Walls that no man thought would fall  
The altars of the just  
Crushed, dust in the wind_  
-Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Karn Evil 9 3rd Impression

“You think I’m what!” Ruby recoiled from Weiss in terror. This was ridiculous, it made no sense, it couldn’t be right. She refused to deal with it.

“I am only saying that it is a possibility. You seem to fit a fair number of criteria. You even have prosopagnosia and are highly empathetic. Those are more anecdotally connected, but it is a possibility you should consider for your own sake.” Weiss held out her hands in a gesture of peace.

“Nu-uh, no way. I’m not thinking about this, because it doesn’t make any sense, and I’m not anyway, so it doesn’t matter.” Ruby crossed her arms and shook her head adamantly. 

“Wouldn’t it be best to-”

“Stop! I won’t, so stop. And never mention it again!”

“Very well. I shall leave you to behave as you choose then.” Weiss’ expression hardened in a way it hadn’t since she had seen Yang “break” Mercury’s leg. She got up and gathered some study materials. “I am going to the library until you’ve calmed down.”

“Good!” Ruby turned away from Weiss and buried herself in the blankets that smelled like all four members of team RWBY. She lay there alone, doing her best to forget about what Weiss had just told her. It wasn’t important, it didn’t matter, and it couldn’t possibly apply to her anyway. Once she was convinced enough, through repetition more than logic, she pulled out her scroll and asked Yang to come back from wherever Weiss had sent her and Blake so that they could have their talk..

“Ruby? Is something up? Where’s Weiss?” Yang came in gently and sat at the foot of the bed.

“We had a fight.” Ruby gulped, she was really starting to feel ashamed of herself.

“What? What did Weiss do?” Yang’s eyes turned red, but Ruby put her hand on her arm placatingly.

“Nothing, it was my fault.” Ruby’s entire body tensed.

“Oh.” Yang was shocked, her eyes immediately going back to violet. “What... did you do?”

“I shouted at her because she was suggesting... bad things that aren’t true, even though she was just trying to help.” Ruby couldn’t look at Yang.

“But what she was saying, it sounds like it hurt you. It’s understandable to react how you did if you were hurt.” Yang pulled Ruby into one of her nice warm hugs. “It’s okay to mess stuff up sometimes.”

“Yeah, I guess. I still hate that I did it though.” Ruby sighed and snuggled into Yang. She really was a great space heater, warm, without ever getting too hot. “I’m gonna go apologise soon, I just need to recover my energy.” Reinvigorating warmth slowly permeated Ruby’s body as they lay there.

“Okay, take your time.” Yang ruffled Ruby’s hair.

###### 

Weiss was studying in the library, just as she’d said she would be. She was alone in one of the far corners, her nose buried in a book about the evolution of grimm over time.

“Hey Weiss. I’m sorry I shouted at you.” Ruby meekly slid into a chair across the table from her girlfriend. 

“Ruby.” Weiss nodded her head in acknowledgment of Ruby’s presence, but did not stop reading. She seemed to exude the same aura of distance that she’d had when they first met. After a few seconds, she marked her place in the book and closed it, sighing. “I’m not angry with you. This...” Weiss gestured at herself, “is a reflex. I have a tendency to shut down in times of interpersonal conflict. One that I am attempting to mitigate, now that I am surrounded by friends.”

“Can I help?” Ruby hesitantly reached out to touch Weiss’ fingertips with her own. They weren’t moved away. 

“Yes. Simply having you here is very helpful, thank you.” Weiss put her hand on top of Ruby’s. “Let’s do our own things for the moment, but while staying like this.” 

“Alright.” With nothing better to do, Ruby pulled out her scroll and guiltily realized that there was someone she hadn’t talked to in a while. Someone very important to her.

**RedLikeRoses: hey Penny, sorry we haven’t talked since you left. There’s been a bunch of stuff happening and also talking to people like this is so weird you know I just sort of her inert about it and I mean the longer I wait the more awkward it is and I actually need to not ramble because you can’t interrupt me like this  
NutsnBolts: do not worry friend Ruby, I feel the same way about long distance communication, but now that we are communicating again I would be ecstatic to hear about what has been happening at Beacon!  
RedLikeRoses: soooooooo I guess you probably saw on the news but Weiss came out as trans, Blake is nonbinary, and we (team RWBY) are all dating now, except me and Yang, y’know  
RedLikeRoses: and it’s been crazy amazing and awesome and gay and I’ve really been wishing you were here still  
NutsnBolts: Congratulations! that is wonderful news! Publications in Atlas have neglected to include information about the latter two developments  
NutsnBolts: I also wish that I could be in Vale, things have not turned out as well as I projected in the aftermath of the tournament  
RedLikeRoses: oh noes, what’s up?  
NutsnBolts: General Ironwood has determined that my training is not yet complete, due to the manner in which I won the tournament  
NutsnBolts: instead of allowing me to engage Grimm in public and reveal my nature to the people of Mantle, he has chosen to concentrate military efforts on the development and widespread deployment of Atlesian Knights and Paladins  
NutsnBolts: it is the most logical choice, a widespread network of defenders can more quickly arrive to defend the people than a single, more specialized agent  
RedLikeRoses: but that means that you’re stuck not being able to do anything, doesn’t it?  
NutsnBolts: indeed :(  
NutsnBolts: it is...  
NutsnBolts: difficult  
RedLikeRoses: I wish I could be there with you, or you here with me  
NutsnBolts: I cannot say when we will next be able to see each other, but I would like to make plans for when we do  
NutsnBolts: perhaps it would help both of us  
RedLikeRoses: that’s a great idea!  
RedLikeRoses: can you eat food?  
NutsnBolts: my father is working on making a module that will allow me to eat, he assures me it will be ready soon  
RedLikeRoses: awesome, I’m totally going to take you out on a trip to try all the best foods then!  
RedLikeRoses: we can get hot chocolate, or ice cream! Or both! And pizza, and COOKIES!  
NutsnBolts: agreed!  
RedLikeRoses: awesome!  
NutsnBolts: I believe that the proper response would be: it’s a date then!  
RedLikeRoses: YEAH!  
RedLikeRoses: like a friend date right?  
NutsnBolts: I defer to your judgement, given that you have much more experience with dates than I  
RedLikeRoses: right, awesome!  
NutsnBolts: and Ruby, would you like me to deliberately begin a conversation between us every week?  
RedLikeRoses: yes, that would be so great thank you Penny!  
NutsnBolts: I will add it to my schedule, but now I have training scheduled, goodbye Ruby  
RedLikeRoses: bye Penny! Talk later :)**

It was such a relief to talk to Penny again, even over Fracture. It wasn’t logical, but Ruby had been somewhat anxious that Penny would suddenly hate her after the period of silence. The long she had waited, the worse it felt to be waiting, and the more guilty she was about it, and the more difficult it was to make contact. Their conversation had left her happy and flustered and wishing she had done it weeks ago though.

“So what were you talking about with Blake?” Weiss stared at Ruby with the ghost of a smile as she put down her scroll. 

“I wasn’t talking with Blake, I was talking with Penny.” Ruby stared at Weiss in confusion, why would she think she was speaking with Blake? 

“I see.” Weiss said, in exactly the way that meant there was something she knew that you didn’t. “Anyway, tomorrow is likely to be a busy day, would you like to dye your hair together while the time is available? If not you’ll likely need to wait until next weekend.”

“Yeah! That’s a great idea!”

###### 

The next day, Ruby ran her hands through her spiky hair at Blake’s behest once again. She loved the way that the red dye they had gotten her made her hair stand out and match the rest of her outfit. So did Blake and Weiss, based on their significantly increased interest in admiring her hair. 

“Come on, enough flirting, you three. I can’t believe I’m saying this but we need to get to Oobleck’s class already.” Yang gently nudged the trio in the direction of the good doctor’s lecture hall.

As they walked, everyone continued to talk, just as normal. Still, there was an undercurrent of tension in the air. Doctor Oobleck’s class was the last one of the day, which normally meant that afterward would be some much appreciated leisure time before settling in to do their homework. Today, however, was different. Winter was in town on military business, and she was going to tell them something that was no doubt deeply personal, and somehow related to Jaques Schnee.

The instant everyone managed to take their seats, Doctor Oobleck came rushing into the room with his signature thermos and claimed his podium with all of the usual intense energy. “Greetings class! It is finally time to begin studying my personal favourite part of history, the distant past. Or, to be more specific, archaeology!” Oobleck slammed his thermos against the podium to emphasize the last word. “Archaeology is the only means we have to by which we can glean small glimpses of what the world may have been like before the scant thousand years or so of deliberately recorded history that survives among the three kingdoms in this day and age. Can anyone tell me how old the oldest of all known archaeological wonders is estimated to be?” A number of hands raised across the room. “Yes, Jaune?”

“The Caves of the Lost, in the mountains that make up the border between Vale and Vacuo. They’re potentially ten thousand years old.” Jaune settled proudly back into his seat as he finished, and Ruby shot him a quick thumbs-up. He was really getting better in classes.

“Correct! The Caves and all of the relics inside of them may well be as much as ten thousand years old. They were first discovered by the Schnee Dust Company while speculating the mountain range for new dust veins. At first they appeared to be a small and isolated cave system, but as time went on and excavation began it was discovered that they are in fact incredibly extensive. It is believed that when they were built the Caves were a single, connected network that snaked through the entire mountain range, large enough to comfortably hold the entire population of Atlas, the kingdom. The largest, most heavily reinforced, most likely to be intact, and therefore first to be discovered aspect of these caves is a great forge room that is estimated to have as much as half a square mile in floor space, and be over one hundred feet high. It will most likely never be completely unearthed however, due to our current inability to maintain the stability of such a structure beneath the weight of an entire mountain.” Oobleck rushed himself over to the blackboard, where a network of tunnels was mapped out into a bisected mountain. He gestured enthusiastically at this drawing as he spoke.

“Due to the location and sheer size of this forge, it is believed that the people who lived there were primarily metalworkers, and incredibly technologically advanced ones at that. This significant cultural specialization suggests that Remnant likely had many other civilizations with which these people traded for goods. And, while it’s oldest aspects are estimated to be as much as ten thousand years old, that which has been excavated has sustained only approximately four thousand years worth of decay and tectonic drift. This implies that it is a civilization that thrived for as long as six thousand years!” Doctor Oobleck paused for a moment, hurriedly gulping down the contents of his thermos.

“Furthermore, it begs a great and terrifying question. What happened to its occupants? What could possibly destroy a civilization thousands of years old? Students, any theories?” This time only one hand went up. “Yes, Ruby?”

“The Grimm? Their civilization sounds incredibly difficult to defend from burrowing Grimm. They could appear from anywhere, at any time.” Ruby posed.

“Ah, but why would they have lasted as long as they did in the first place, if they were unable to deal with Grimm on a regular basis?”

“Maybe the Grimm only came into existence four thousand years ago?”

“Indeed! This is one of the most popular theories about their downfall, and it provides the only meaningful estimation that can be made about the appearance of the creatures of Grimm. If we presume that the Grimm came into existence suddenly, destroying any especially large groups of people other than the four kingdoms that survive to this day, it explains why so little is found of any past civilizations. Furthermore, aboveground traces of civilizations such as metal or concrete, even large structures made entirely of stone are likely to last only about two thousand years in most climates. The Caves of the Lost are known to us only because their construction required the vast reshaping of landscapes, and because metals have been preserved from oxidation by the thousands of tons of rock piled atop them.” Oobleck clapped his hands excitedly. “And now, let explore what precious few cultural artifacts and quirks of architecture we have been able to discover...”

###### 

“Uggggh.” Ruby flopped into bed. “You know, Doctor Oobleck really had my attention for once, up until he started showing off a bunch of jewelry and going into detail about metallurgy and reconstructive architecture. And cave supports, why did we have to learn so much about how to stabilize caves?”

“Don’t forget the geology. I am never going to be a geologist, I swear. How could anyone study _rocks_ for their entire lives, and not go insane?” Yang flopped down next to Ruby.

“You two had best recover quickly, we only have a few minutes at most before Winter arrives.” Weiss climbed into the bed and pulled Ruby’s head into her lap as she gently rubbed Ruby’s shoulders.

“Come to think of it, is Winter the type to do research on her sister’s partners?” Blake frowned and lay down in between Yang and Ruby, gripping both of their hands.

“She is.” Weiss hummed thoughtfully. “Her dissatisfaction with anything she may find is largely irrelevant to me however. You needn’t fear her opinions of you.”

“It’s not exactly her opinion that I’m worried about. It’s more-” Blake was interrupted by a knock at the door. Winter.

With an apologetic pat on the head, Weiss felt Ruby on the bed and went to open the door. Behind it stood Winter, as refined as ever. “Sister, it is good to see you again.” Weiss was lifted into a hug from her sister. 

“And you as well, Weiss.” Weiss’ back was turned to Ruby, but the scythe-wielder could tell that Winter’s use of Weiss’ name made her beam with satisfaction. As Winter stepped into the room, her gaze turned more severe, landing on Blake. “I must speak with you.”

“Winter.” Weiss’ voice was low, carrying a warning that went unacknowledged.

“What exactly is your relationship with Adam Tarus? Did you know anything about the death of Sienna Khan?” Winter took a step towards the bed, and Blake’s ears flattened along their head as they did their best to recede back into the mattress.

“What are you doing?” Ruby narrowed her eyes at Winter as she leaned to the side, protectively wrapping her arms around Blake.

“I need to know! You were closely associated with him, did you know about his intent to usurp Sienna Khan?” Winter stalked closer, and Blake buried themself deeper in the covers, their eyes wide.

“Winter!” Weiss physically stepped into Winter’s path, Myternaster visibly present in its sheath at her hip. “You will stop this, or I will remove you from this room by force.”

Shocked, Winter paused, her eyes darting around the room like a scared animal as she seemed to realize that everyone was distressed for the first time. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, suddenly straightening her posture. “My apologies. That was unacceptable behavior. I have no excuse, I can only hope that you may come to understand the reasons behind my actions.” 

“You’re forgiven.” Blake’s voice was slightly hesitant, but firm, even as they clung to Ruby. It seemed to relax the atmosphere in the room slightly. 

"I would appreciate if you could answer my questions?" Winter cautiously posed.

“Winter, perhaps it would be for the best if you simply moved on to the albatross in the room.” Weiss sighed, and removed herself from between Winter and Blake, instead taking a seat next to Blake and wrapping an arm around their shoulders.

“‘Albatross’? What albatross?” Yang squinted at the Schneeblings.

“It’s from _Rime of the Ancient Mariner,_ the albatross represents a great psychological burden, or even a curse, literal or metaphorical.” Blake was somewhat reinvigorated by the sudden opportunity for the conversation to take a literary turn.

“Indeed, it is an unfortunately apt term for the story I have come to tell you today.” Winter sighed, and for a moment she looked very tired.In another moment she was back to being her stern and graceful self. “You all may wish to make yourselves comfortable with each other. This is a lengthy and emotionally distressing tale.” She waited for a moment as team RWBY situated themselves as comfortable as they could while still sitting up in bed. “It all began when Ghira Belladonna came to speak at the Gautier College of Business...”


	39. Interlude: A Winter's Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoo, finally finished this. I'm never going to say that I'm putting myself on a schedule again. It seems like authors are inherently cursed to stop doing a story whenever they say that. Anyway, here's Winterwall

_We've all been hurt before  
You know the pain  
And just to love is not enough  
So many times I've had to turn away  
From love I know could be so true to me_

_Now I stand alone in my dark and lonely world  
Surrounded by this cold embrace of jealousy  
No feeling remains, like a restless heart  
Naked in the frozen winds of sorrow  
So cold_

_Now I feel the bridges burning  
Flames reflecting in my eyes  
The feeling much too cold to share  
Another broken heart to spare  
Smoke clouds dreams I've left behind_  
-Crimson Glory, Burning Bridges

The Gautier College of Business was the oldest, and most well-respected college of business in Atlas. It had to be, as Jauqes Schnee accepted nothing less than the best for and from his eldest daughter. More than just a respected school, Gautier prided itself on its progressive attitude. The appearance of a progressive attitude, that is.

Gautier gave out hundreds of thousands of lien of scholarships per year, yes. They very frequently invited keynote speakers for equal rights. They simply loved to boast of these inclusive policies. What always seemed to go unmentioned was the stringent requirements attached to every scholarship, requirements that drove more than three quarters of the Mantelian students who received them to either drop out or fail to meet the community service requirements every year. The eighty percent of Faunus students who were harassed until they fled the school for their own safety.

In a theater large enough to hold more than five hundred students, only a handful were present for the appearance of one of the most important men in the modern history of Faunus equality. And of those handful, only one listened to what the man had to say.

Winter paid rapt attention, she had come because a teacher had offered extra credit to any students who attended and she intended to earn that credit, unlike those around her. What she heard was frankly a shock. The shock being that it was necessary for Ghira Belladonna to explain to the students at an esteemed university that treating their employees with the barest modicum of respect and decency was more profitable than the exploitation and disposal of said employees. 

Sheltered beneath her father’s thumb as she was, she had never realized to just what extent it was that the Faunus were mistreated. Certainly, Jaques was derisive of them, but she hadn’t expected the business world or Atlas as a whole to be similar in nature. She needed to know more about what exactly the situation was, it was simply unacceptable that she should be so ignorant about such a matter of major importance.

“If any of you have further questions, or would like to make contributions to the White Fang’s efforts, we have established a location just outside of this theater where you can speak with myself, or a number of other volunteers. Thank you for your time.” Ghira bowed and walked offstage, causing the house lights to return to normal and students to immediately start filing out, many of them stretching as if just waking up from a nap.

Outside, Winter picked her way through the nonexistent crowd to the location Ghira had mentioned. She was interested in learning more from him, as what she had already seen in Atlas or heard in this speech was clearly an incomplete picture. 

“Miss Schnee, it’s an honor.” Ghira greeted her warmly from behind a simple folding desk. He and his cohorts were modestly dressed and armed with piles of pamphlets. Still, compared to the ostentatious grandeur of the theater, and the snobbish standards of the university clientele, it was a dismal affair. 

“Spare me the deference, please. As far as I’m concerned we’re equals.” Nearly everyone at this damn school was perfectly eager to suck up to Winter the moment they saw her distinctive white hair, it was endlessly bothersome.

“You’ll excuse us if we don’t believe you.” An unfamiliar voice commented, doing nothing to hide their venomous attitude toward Winter. “What with all of the debt slavery, the mass incarceration, and the exploitation perpetuated by the SDC.” 

“Sienna, please. This isn’t why we’ve come here.” Ghira shook his head, and Winter followed his gaze to the unknown speaker.

“No, I’d like to hear what she has to say.” Winter studied this newcomer, immediately intrigued by her direct approach. “If you don’t mind.”

Ghira raised a bushy eyebrow. “Sienna is the woman I’m training to replace me when I eventually step down, I suppose it would serve you well to meet her, in the event that you are interested in our cause.”

The first thing that grabbed Winter’s attention was not the bold tiger ears that thrust forth from the sides of Sienna’s head, but rather the way that she held herself. Sienna made it clear that she considered herself to be surrounded by enemies, she even wore her weapon at her hip. Unlike Ghira, her gaze held no room for compromise or deference, only disgust.

“Just because I can acknowledge the need for bootlicking doesn’t mean that I’m going to pretend that it’s an acceptable method of getting what we want.” Disdainful amber eyes glared out at Winter from a hard face. 

“I have no intention of allowing you to lick my boots. I won’t tolerate it.” Winter took a step toward Sienna, bringing them nose to nose. “If you have something to say to me or about my family, by all means, say it.”

“With pleasure.” Sienna didn’t move away in the slightest, speaking even while glaring at the Schnee right in front of her. “Your father is the most distinguished and wealthy pile of living, breathing, feces that I have ever heard of. He uses his company to cause more pain and suffering than any other organization in the world, and I would like nothing more than to see the Schnee Dust Company dismantled with my own bare hands, along with the governments that allow it to operate in the fashion that it does.”

“While I lack the knowledge to comment on your view of the SDC, I can say that your assessment of my father’s personality is in fact perfectly precise. Commendable, even.” If there was one thing that could put someone into Winter’s good graces, it was insulting her father.

This ready acceptance startled Sienna, and she took a step, breaking the stalemate between them. “So you have that much self-awareness then? Interesting.” She seemed to be carefully considering Winter, testing her even. “Then why is it that you’re here, at this miserable excuse for a school?”

“Because I must be.” To stay in the Schnee household Winter needed to do as father asked, and she needed to stay there for Weiss, and Whitley. Even if she didn’t care for being the heiress, it let her protect her family, at least a little bit. As much as she hated it, it was necessary. 

“Interesting. I’m surprised by you, Winter Schnee. You aren’t the cold hearted bitch I expected.” Sienna stalked around Winter, eyeing her up and down. “You stand more like a fighter than a noble. Who are you?” 

Obviously, the question was asking for more than just her name, so Winter avoided it. “That is none of your business, besides, are you not here to tell me about your cause?” 

“That depends. Do you want to hear the watered down spiel about long term profitability, or the truth?” 

“I will accept nothing less than the truth as you see it.” 

“As I see it?” Sienna narrowed her eyes. 

“There is no absolute truth, save the inevitability of death and taxes. I intend to someday undo what my father has wrought, thus I must consider every possibility.” 

“Someday?” Sienna scoffed. “Do you know what I see in your eyes? I see a woman who’s holding back, and I don’t believe for a second that you’re going to accomplish what you claim. But fine, I won’t pass up a chance to get one of you people on our side. If you’re serious, meet me in Mantle tomorrow at noon, at this coffee shop. We’ll talk there.” She pulled a business card out of her pocket and handed it over. Then she rudely gestured for Winter to leave, to Ghira’s obvious displeasure. 

“Thank you for your time Mr. Belladonna, this has been a most stimulating conversation.” Winter smiled amicably at the grizzled leader. “But I must be going to my next class.”

###### 

Cattails was a simple and well lit establishment, run entirely by Faunus. Winter didn’t particularly care for drinking coffee at the moment, but she ordered some anyway, careful not to stare at the barista’s antlers, nor to avoid looking at them. After leaving a reasonable tip, she thanked the cashier and made her way to a table, sitting in a position that let her observe the entire shop.

A great many of the patrons and employees were openly staring, either at her revealing white hair, or the two swords that she wore at her hip. She only went unarmed in places where carrying weapons was illegal, such as on campus. Anyone watching her was paid no heed, she could certainly understand why they would stare. 

Sienna arrived precisely fifteen minutes late, strolling through the single door entrance as if she was early. She ordered a coffee casually, chatting with the employees as she did so. Winter was careful to reveal no portion of her frustration as Sienna finally took a seat across from her.

“So, did I pass?” Winter tipped her cup respectfully in Sienna’s direction before taking a sip. It was decent enough, though she had only ordered it because she knew she was being judged by her behavior here.

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sienna remained impassive, mirroring Winter’s behavior in a fashion that felt almost mocking.

“You did ask me here to measure my intentions, did you not?” Winter raised an eyebrow.

“That is precisely why I’ve asked you here. So why then is it that you continue to calculate your every move to fit what you believe are my expectations?” Sienna nearly growled out the end of her question, her hand clenching tightly around her mug.

Winter froze, caught cold. Acting to the expectations of others was her natural behavior by now. She hadn’t even considered refraining from doing so, though even if she had she doubted that she would have seen any reason to do so. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“Is...” Sienna stared at Winter in shock. “Are you saying that that’s just how you live your life?”

“Perhaps.” Winter looked into her coffee. The thought of such things made her distinctly uncomfortable, and it must have shown.

“I see.” Sienna at least had the grace not to press the subject. “Why are you wearing a weapon?”

“I’m always armed in any situation where being so is legal.” Winter shrugged off her discomfort as the conversation turned back to a subject she favored.

“You are a warrior then, aren’t you?” Sienna took a long look at Winter. “Somewhere underneath all of that. I’ll judge you in combat then.” She nodded contemplatively.

“I don’t have a sparring location arranged for in Mantle.” Winter ran her hand along the hilt of her swords affectionately. She had trained in combat despite her father’s wishes, discovering how to use her semblance with only her grandfather’s vague and rare instruction and her own wits. “Though I suppose that it has been some time since I have been challenged in a fight.”

“Think you’re that good with that saber?” Sienna grinned, a fire lighting up in her eyes. 

“Not quite. I am hardly as skilled as a trained huntress, it is simply that a hired instructor is reluctant to win against their employer. At least, the ones that are approved to teach me are.” Winter smirked, already anticipating a good fight. Sienna was right in one regard at least, even without needing to say it, she would have no trouble disposing of her habit in combat.

“Alright then. Let’s go.” With a flick of her wrist, Sienna tossed her nearly full coffee into a trash can that she couldn’t even see, without a drop spilling.

“Now?”

“What time could possibly be better than right now? You’ve captured my attention, Winter Schnee, now earn my respect.” Sienna stood abruptly and began to walk away briskly. 

“Very well.” Winter stood with Sienna and tossed away her own coffee, already empty. She was surprised to find that she looked forward to this, despite it being a complete deviation from her own intentions.

###### 

“Is that all you’ve got?” Winter grunted as she ducked under the heavy chain blade that flew at her from Sienna’s grip. Getting into close range would put her at an advantage, if she could just get enough time to create a series of propulsion glyphs that would lead her to her opponent.

“Frankly, I’m rather disappointed by your performance, but I suppose that’s what I should expect from a spoilt heiress.” Sienna taunted as she lined up another attack.

Winter grit her teeth and began using her semblance, visualizing the path that she would take at high speed as she lowered herself into a ready stance, both swords prepared to attempt to deflect Sienna’s whip. “I’m only beginning.” She shot forward at the same time that the chain whip started to fly towards her once again. They passed each other at high speed, and Winter deflected the tip off of the side with the flat of her blade, changing its course without allowing it to wrap around her sword. Then she reached Sienna herself and two swords scissored across her chest with all the force of her charge behind them.

Sienna was pushed back, and her whip moved with her as she used the force of the blow to jerk her weapon back towards her, and Winter was unable to avoid its returning blow to her side, sending a shock of pain from the impact point, even as her aura prevented the blade from doing any damage. “A bad beginning. Perhaps you had best give up before the end.”

“Never.” Winter panted. She was already beginning to tire. An heiress’ life left her little time for endurance training, between classes, sleep, and meaningless social appearances. Still, she had no intention of stopping before she dropped to the floor or her aura broke entirely. She took a step forward and went on the offensive. Now that Sienna was close she had no intention of allowing distance to be created between them again.

Many of Winter’s blows had to be pulled at the last second lest her sword become entangled in the chain which Sienna deftly used to both block and attack as they clashed in close combat. It was a frustrating experience, enhanced by the fact that Winter was clearly tiring more quickly than Sienna. Still, she was making some progress, landing occasional solid blows as she attacked from two angles at once. There was only one problem; Sienna hadn’t used the dust affixed to the end of her weapon yet.

Sienna lashed out with the end of the chain, and Winter dodged to the side, but as she stepped forward to take advantage of this opening a blast behind her knocked her off balance, into Sienna’s arms. She was wrapped in chains in seconds, there was no way that she could escape. “Do you surrender?”

“No.” Winter growled. If she was going to be beaten, it would be because her aura was nearly gone, not by forfeit.

“Fine.” Sienna activated the lightning dust in her whip, sending currents running painfully through Winter’s body, and quickly depleting her aura until the buzzer went off and she stopped immediately. She did not release Winter from the chains.

“What are you waiting for?” Winter’s heart raced with exertion as she looked at Sienna, who was breathing nearly as heavily as her as the adrenaline in their systems began to dissipate. 

Sienna leaned forward and whispered into Winter’s ear, and she was suddenly acutely aware of just how close their faces were to each other. “I like a woman who fights until the bitter end. I also happen to like a woman in chains.” Her voice was forceful, but in a completely different way than it had been before. It sent a shock through Winter’s body.

Winter stared at the woman who still had her restrained for a long moment. She could feel the warmth of Sienna’s breath gently tickling her cheeks. Eventually, she realized that Sienna was waiting for a response, so she nodded, once.

Immediately, Sienna’s mouth was pressed to Winter’s in a kiss, heated by the energy of the fight that still pulsed through them. There was no tongue, but neither party had any intention of pulling back or letting the other assert themself for too long. They only separated when they needed to breathe, Sienna grinning smugly down at Winter, who was left far too breathless to be composed in any way whatsoever.

With a casual flick of the wrist, Sienna released Winter from her chain whip’s embrace. “So, clearly you’re a fighter, not a businesswoman. Which begs the question, why are you going to such a school as Gautier?”

“Because I must, for the sake of the people I love.” Winter recombined her swords into one and sheathed them as if nothing had just happened. “It is a fight, in its own way.”

“Well, perhaps you’re in need of a new combat instructor. And some private lessons.” Sienna winked conspiratorially. “I can provide both, as long as you’re learning about the Faunus at the same time.”

“And what sort of environment would I be learning about the Faunus in? A coffee shop perhaps, or a restaurant?” Winter smiled coyly.

“Why, you’ve read my mind. And I’ll have to show you some of the things the White Fang does around Atlas as well, once we’ve gotten to know each other a little bit better.” Sienna firmly trailed a finger down Winter’s arm.

“Very well.” Winter squirmed subtly under Sienna’s touch. “I suppose I must, if I intend to broaden my horizons.” They both knew what she was really saying.

###### 

They went on many dates after that, at first under pretense, then increasingly blatantly. Winter had to fabricate excuses to go into Mantle more often than she would like to, but it was crucial that her father not discover what exactly she was doing. There was also a great deal of time that she spent helping the White Fang at Sienna’s side, volunteering to work at soup kitchens, help distribute clothing for the cold Solitas winter, and gradually learning about the political machinations of the organization.

Their last date was a good one, though it’s memory would remain forever tainted in light of what happened shortly after. If only she had been more cautious, less greedy with her trips into Mantle.

###### 

“What is it that is so secret about an orphanage?” Winter raised an eyebrow curiously as she approached a dilapidated building in the poorer districts of Mantle, arm in arm with Sienna.

“Orphanages are required to be licensed to operate in Atlas, and they’re required to maintain a ratio of at least half human children. There are far more Faunus orphans than there are humans, and even then state run operations have a tendency to just send orphaned Faunus kids to the military for truancy.” Sienna gritted her teeth in anger that quickly dissipated as a few children recognised her and waved enthusiastically.

“And those children, they’re convicted?” Winter was almost beginning to grow numb to just how utterly oppressive things were for Faunus in Atlas. No matter how much she learned, it seemed as if there was always more.

“More often than not. And guess how likely a kid with a criminal record is to get into an orphanage or a foster home. That’s why we have to keep this place a secret.” Sienna sighed. “It means that these kids hardly ever get any company, but at least they’re relatively safe.”

“That’s madness.” Winter shook her head. 

“Most people don’t even know it’s happening, right under their damn nose. Most of them probably don’t care either. Not as long as it’s in the name of law and order.” Sienna crossed the threshold and immediately brightened up as two children tackled her, valiantly clinging onto her legs.

It was a good afternoon. Winter liked children, it was only natural given that she had two younger siblings. It had been years since Whitley had been young and oblivious enough to be happy in the Schnee household though, and she hadn’t realized just how much she missed the sounds of children playing until she heard them again. Whenever she stole a brief kiss from Sienna, there were plenty of groans and cries of grossness, but a small few seemed delighted to realize that girls could in fact kiss other girls.

“Mmm, that was fun, but now I’m so bloody tired.” Winter griped as she cuddled up to Sienna in the backseat of Sienna’s car. “And I had best return to the manor soon.” Leaving was always the hardest part.

“You could always run away with me. Join the White Fang, leave that bastard behind.” Sienna let Winter’s hair out of its ponytail and began to comb her fingers through it.

“We both know that it’s not him who I can’t leave behind. I need to be there for Weiss.” Winter sighed, content to let Sienna touch her in the short moments that they had left.

“You really are too selfless.” Sienna sighed. “You’re miserable every minute of the day that you don’t spend with me, Weiss, or in the middle of a fight. If it’s ever too much, and you have a way to get out, I want you to promise me that you’ll take it. Please. I love you too much to let you be miserable.”

Winter turned her head and captured Sienna’s lips in a brief kiss. “I love you too. And as long as I have you here for me, I know that I’ll be able to make it to the point of usurping him. But fine, I promise.” 

“Good.” Sienna kissed back in retaliation. It may have taken longer than necessary for Winter to return to Atlas that evening.

###### 

That very same night Winter stood in her father’s study as he stared out of a window, having not looked at her since she walked in at Klien’s command. She had been performing well in her classes, and feared that there was only one reason why she would be called here under such abnormal circumstances.

“Daughter,” Jacques turned around, his moustache set in a firm line, “I am most disappointed in you. Secretive trips to commune with some lover are one thing, I do not hold that against you, I myself have done something similar on occasion.” Winter worked to contain her revulsion. “But this company that you have chosen to keep. It is simply unacceptable. To think that my own flesh and blood would betray me and everything natural in the world and associate with an animal. And a female at that. And then to go further, and work with the White Fang, who fight my business at every turn with their violent and unreasonable demands.” He shook his head. “Frankly, I lack the words to express the depths of my pain. Surely, you are repentant, there must have been some foul coercion or deception here. I thought that I raised you to be better than this.”

“I regret nothing.” Somehow, he had already learned everything. There was no reason for Winter to hold back. “I love Sienna, and the White Fang is an organization that works tirelessly to help the people that you are causing incalculable harm to.”

“I see.” Jacques strode up to Winter, all the more intimidating for the fact that he was somehow keeping his short temper. Without warning, he slapped her. “Clearly they have poisoned your mind and tarnished your will. But do not fear, I will correct this, and there will be consequences.”

“Do whatever you want to me, I’m an adult, I will not stop seeing her, nor helping the Faunus, and there is nothing on Remnant that you can do to stop me.” Weiss grit her teeth, expecting another slap, but nothing came.

Instead, Jacques laughed. It was a repulsive, derogatory sound. “Don’t be preposterous, when a dog bites its owner, it is the dog that must be put down.”

“You wouldn’t...” Surely even he couldn’t get away with killing Sienna Khan.

“No, of course not. Sienna Khan is a public figure, she will not die. It is simply necessary to send a message. Now leave, there are arrangements to be made. Oh, and don’t bother trying to contact your little pet, I have made some arrangements with your carrier. You will only receive or send calls that I approve of from now on.” 

Not daring to say another word, Winter stalked away to her room, where she cried herself to sleep. It would be okay though, probably. Sienna wasn’t going to be scared away by some threat, if anything it would embolden her. Jacques’ words were just as empty and devoid of value as they always were. Right?

###### 

It wasn’t until days later that the “consequences” arrived. In all that time Winter had desperately tried everything that she could think of to get into contact with Sienna, but it had all failed. Now she was just floundering uselessly.

In the middle of her tasteless lunch, her scroll notified her of a text, received from her father. It was a brief message, and the worst that she had ever received. _Channel 4 News._ Her hands trembled as she connected to a news stream, and was greeted with the sight of a badly damaged building.

“This illegal orphanage,” a reporter stood before the charred remains of a vaguely familiar building, “was destroyed today in an explosion that early reports suggest was caused by a leaky gas pipeline. It is suspected that the White Fang was responsible for its operation, and many high ranking members are currently being held by the military to determine the possibility of accountability in this tragedy. No survivors have yet been found.”

Winter turned off the news feed. She’d seen enough, and it felt as if she was about to throw up. Jacques had destroyed an entire orphanage, just to retaliate against a perceived slight. Then her scroll rang, the caller ID telling her that it was Sienna.

“Are-” Winter was cut off before she could begin.

“What the fuck is wrong with you! How could you do this? You’re sick! You pretend to love me, just so that you can trick me into revealing one of the most sensitive operations in all of Atlas, and then you murder dozens of people and leave behind a dwaring of your own fucking emblem! I swear, I will lead the White Fang on a path that leads to the disembodied heads of the entire rotten Schnee family sitting on the heads of pikes!” The call ended.

###### 

Not long after, Winter left. Jacques hounded her and degraded her to no end as he demanded ever more from her. She barely ever left the estate. It was only because her mother was old friends with General Ironwood that she was able to apply to Atlas Academy. Then, finally freed, all she could do was watch from afar as Sienna Khan turned to excessive violence, then ascended to be the Grand High Leader of the White Fang.


	40. Fear, Hope, Joy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is not dead, for that is not dead which can eternal lie.

_Here in cherished halls,  
In peaceful days  
I fear the edge of dawn  
Knowing time betrays_

_Faint lights pass through colored glass  
In this beloved place  
Silver shines, the world dines  
A smile on each face_

_As joy surrounds, comfort abounds  
and I can feel I'm breaking free  
For just this moment lost in time.  
I am finally me_  
-Buttercup, The Edge of Dawn

Weiss stared at her sister, dumbfounded. The mere thought that she had once been involved with Sienna Khan was incredible. It was beyond the wildest of conspiracy theories. And yet, here Winter was, sitting calmly after telling all of team RWBY just what had truly incited her decision to join the military.

“But... why the hell would you learn all that and then join the damn military? You should know better.” Blake shook their head in awe.

“I did not intend to at first, but being blacklisted limited my options. Over the course of my education I got to know General Ironwood, and I realized that he is a good man. So I joined the military and I have been working to change things for the better ever since.” Winter said.

“Sellout.” Blake spat. “The Atlesian military-”

“Blake.” Weiss put her hand on their shoulder. “Please don’t. Not right now.” She wrapped her arms around them, more for her own comfort than theirs as she spoke to Winter. “I always thought that you left because of me.” She may have sniffed as she said it.

“Never.” Winter shook her head adamantly. “I’m only sorry that I couldn’t do more to help you.”

“I thought that I wasn’t good enough. That you got tired of my needing your help.” Weiss stood up and walked over to her sister, clinging tightly to her in a hug. “I thought that I drove you away by being too dependent on you.”

“You did no such thing.” Winter was slightly stiff, but she still hugged Weiss back tightly. “I stayed as long as I did because I wanted to do everything I could to support you. I hated that I needed to leave, because I was too weak to stay. I abandoned you.”

“No, you freed yourself.” Weiss choked back a sob. “You needed to do it eventually. It’s okay.” They stayed like that for a long time.

“So, I don’t really want to interrupt, but now what?” Blake’s ears were still flattened against their head as they inclined their head toward Winter.

“What do you mean?” Weiss gave Winter one last hug before returning to the sides of her partners.

“Now that we’ve pissed off a man who’s willing to blow up an orphanage to teach his daughter a lesson, what do we do?” Blake’s question was directed at the entire room, but Winter answered.

“Unless you have some form of leverage over him, nothing. None of you have loved ones in Atlas, correct?” Two people nodded, but there was one shock of red and black hair that remained still.

“Well,” Ruby picked nervously at her fingernail, “when you put it like that...”

“Go on, please. If there is anything I can do to assist this person, I will.” Winter nodded encouragingly.

“I guess...” Ruby trailed off again, then coughed once, seeming to muster courage for some reason. “I guess that I’d say Penny is a loved one. Platonically, I mean.”

Somehow, Weiss found that she didn’t particularly believe Ruby about that final statement, though she certainly didn’t suspect the reaper of lying.

Winter raised one sharp black eyebrow. “The robot?”

“Don’t call her that.” Ruby frowned, rightfully annoyed. “I don’t really think that Jacques would have any way of knowing this, but yeah. Penny is important to me. And so it’s not really relatedtothethingwithWeiss’dadbutweweretalkakingandshesaidthatshewashavingahardtimewithnotbeingallowedto-”

“Ruby.” Blake grabbed hold of Ruby’s shoulders, their voice calm. “Breathe.” They slowly inhaled, then exhaled, inhaled, then exhaled, until Ruby matched their rhythm.

“I was thinking, you’re pretty high up, so do you have jurisdiction over Penny?” Ruby looked at Winter hopefully.

“Yes. In fact, I have direct authority over the Penny project, though I rarely exercise it.” Winter rested her chin in her hands.

“Penny’s unhappy that she can’t do anything to help people, and you’re just keeping her in limbo. Could you try to let her fight Grimm somehow? Or do something that really helps people?” Ruby’s eyes brimmed with hope, and Weiss tried to avoid contemplating whether this could be considered to be nepotism.

“I will attempt to find ways for her to fulfill a meaningful purpose, though I doubt that she will be allowed to fight freely in Atlas or Mantle. It is General Ironwood’s decision that she is not yet ready to be revealed to the world, and I will not challenge that.”

“Thank you!” Ruby burst into petals and tackled Winter, nearly hard enough to topple her to the ground along with her chair, an event that was prevented only with the use of a carefully placed glyph.

Winter’s eyes were wide as she shot a pleading look to Weiss, who just smiled and shrugged helplessly. “Is this absolutely necessary?”

“Yep!” Ruby clung insistently to the bemused and slightly distraught special agent, nodding fervently. “Any sister of Weiss’ is a sister of mine, and sisters get hugs!”

“Ruby!” Weiss chided her girlfriend and instinctually covered her face, immediately flushing with embarrassment at the implications of Ruby’s statement. “Don’t say things that make it sound as if we were already married!”

“So then it’s just a matter of time until you are?” Yang smirked, further intensifying Weiss’ embarrassment. Snickering filled the background as Winter coughed in surprise, seemingly torn between laughter and concern. 

“I appreciate the sentiment, but please, I was not raised to be a hugger, and am not as such to this day.” Winter created a small glyph between herself and Ruby, and removed the girl.

“You want to fix that?” Ruby beamed up at Winter, happily wiggling her eyebrows.

“No, thank you. I must return to my duties shortly, and I doubt that we will see each other again for quite some time thereafter. Unless you were to come to Atlas over your break between semesters, which I would strongly advise against.” Winter inclined her head to Ruby as she began to leave. “And one final thing. It has been wonderful to get to know you as yourself Weiss, thank you for trusting me.”

“Thank you Winter.” Weiss smiled, though tears threatened to appear in the corners of her eyes. “I’m glad to have you as my sister.”

With one last relatively stoic smile that said more than words ever could, Winter left.

There was so much still ahead of them. It was only beginning to sink in what threats remained. Salem, Cinder, her own father. They all lay dormant for the time, for reasons that varied and were yet unknown, but still, it felt as if there would inevitably be a day when they would face odds that felt insurmountable. But they were team RWBY, and if anyone could win a fight like that, it was them.

“Weiss? How are you doing?” Yang gently cajoled Weiss back to reality with a firm hand on her shoulder and a gentle smile.

“I’m worried, but hopeful. You?” Weiss laid her hand on top of Yang’s, relishing in the gentle touch.

“Yeah, I’d say I’m about the same. It’s just...” Yang sighed. “It’s nothing. Nevermind.”

“Yang. None of your bullshit. What were you about to say?” Weiss immediately prepared herself to make sure Yang isn’t going along with events for the sake of others like she had been before. It worried her. “If this is too much, you can probably still back out.”

“No. It’s not that at all.” Yang shook her head adamantly. “But, lately, I can’t stop thinking about Mountain Glenn. Raven bailed me out, but I almost died. It should have been a wakeup call, but I still didn’t take things seriously after that. I can’t just be here as a thrill seeker anymore, everything’s gotten so much more important. There’s so much at stake, in everything, you know?”

“I get it actually.” Ruby nodded. “It’s weird, and it feels like it hasn’t really started happening yet, but at the same time, this is sort of the thing I’ve dreamed of since I was young. Saving the world. But we have this time, right here when things aren’t happening close enough for us to do anything yet. And we’ve already succeeded once, so I think we deserve this break.”

“Just because things are serious doesn’t mean we should stop having fun.” Blake hugged Yang from behind. “I’m pretty sure that’s something I learned when I got too obsessed with the White Fang and we ended up fighting an Atlesian Paladin by ourselves.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely right. What I mean is that practical finals are pretty close, and I think we should be careful about that. It’s more important than ever that we don’t get too wrapped up in our relationship to be good hunters. We need to keep getting better, and beat everything that’s coming at us.” Yang smacked her fist into her open palm.

“Tell me Yang Xiao Long,” Weiss guided Yang’s chin to meet her intense, nearly malicious gaze, “is this a request for me to work your ass even harder than I ordinarily would?” Her voice dripped with flirtatious suggestion.

Yang’s mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before she managed to speak again. “Uh, yes?” Her eyes were subtly glazed over as her mind wandered.

“Well, I’ll drill every last piece of information you’ll need into you then.” Weiss pulled Yang in for a quick kiss before releasing her, only taunting her a little bit. Yang barely even needed extra study time, she had the second best average grades of them all, but of course they could always be better.

“Weiss, you are evil and it’s really hot.” Yang pouted, but she was still too flustered for it to look like anything but a blush. “And I’ve just roped myself into a bunch of work for the rest of this week, haven’t I?”

“Indeed you have.” Weiss smirked. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll have an opportunity to relax when Nora drags us all into the game of adult truth or dare that she threatened would happen this coming weekend.”

“That... actually sounds like a lot of fun.” Ruby tapped her chin thoughtfully. “As long as things don’t go too far.”

“I’m sure even Nora knows to establish boundaries.” Blake nodded, though their lips were pursed thoughtfully. 

“Probably. I’m sure Ren will keep her in check, as he usually does.” Yang laid back, composure regained.

Weiss’ gaze immediately snapped to Yang. “We still must complete our work for the day. The delivery of difficult news does not end our academic responsibilities. That goes for all of us.” She got up, and pulled Ruby after her. “Come, if we wish to be prepared for the future there is yet a great deal of work to be done.”

“But work is woooork.” Ruby groused, but followed nonetheless, trailing Blake and Yang behind her, if reluctantly.

###### 

“Say, Pyrrha, have you ever been faced with a challenge that feels insurmountable?” Weiss looked up from the textbook they were pouring over to her studying companion of the day.

“No, I don’t think so.” Pyrrha looked up as well, deep in thought. “I don’t believe that anything is insurmountable.”

“But have you ever felt that it was insurmountable? You don’t need to believe it to feel it.”

“Is this about Salem?”

“In part.” Weiss sighed. How was she going to deal with the ire of a man whose wealth was enough to very nearly control the kingdom of Atlas? She had to return someday, somehow. Return, and do whatever it took to remove his influence from the world. “But ultimately, we all die in the end. No matter how good a hunter is, they don’t usually live to retirement. There’s always going to be a time when we fail.”

“Probably.” Pyrrha nodded. “If I somehow knew I was in a situation like that, I guess instead of trying to defeat the thing right in front of me, I’d look for other ways that I can succeed. Saving some people, even in the process of failing, maybe. Or maybe if it was something that wasn’t immediate like a swarm of Grimm, I’d look for ways to succeed in small ways, even if I can’t complete my true objective.”

As far as small victories went, forcing people to be aware of Weiss’ existence was probably a pretty decent first step, though she had no intention of continuing on and becoming a public figure for queer rights as well as a huntress. She would know how to do more in a position of business power, rather than simply as a celebrity.

“Is that what you would have done at the Vytal Festival?” Weiss wanted to glare at Pyrrha. She would have hurt Ruby a great deal if she had died fighting Cinder. Sometimes it was hard to ignore that, even if it was an utterly selfish sentiment.

“Yeah. I guess so.” Pyrrha shrugged. “Now...” she glanced across the room at Jaune and Ren playing go fish. “It almost feels like it would be wrong to go, even if it helped people. But I’d still do it, just not for the sake of strange schemes and secretive headmasters.” She smiled faintly. “Ruby was right about that, I guess.”

“Good. If you die and she suffers you know I’ll have to hate you. And I wouldn’t want to do that.” Weiss smiled. All of her partners would suffer if Pyrrha died, but she had a feeling that it would hit Ruby the hardest.

“I’m sure that you wouldn’t.” Pyrrha smiled back radiantly.

“It feels as if we’re teetering on the brink.” Weiss’ mood suddenly darkened. “As if this is stolen time, delaying the inevitable. Cinder has magic, and we don’t. We’re in danger, and there’s nothing we can do until that danger finds us.”

“Yeah. It probably is the calm before the storm. It’s a storm I hope we can weather. But that also makes these days all the more precious, doesn’t it?” Once again, Pyrrha glanced at Jaune, her voice gentle.

“It really does.” Weiss sighed. There was hope, fear, and joy in everything around her. They seemed to be consistent parts of her life lately. “But I believe that all we have to fear for now is our finals. So if you wouldn’t mind quizzing me?”

“Sure.” Pyrrha turned her attention back to the textbook and began to question Weiss on occasional subjects. Naturally, she got them all right, up to a point. “What is the best mindset with which to approach a fight with an adult deathstalker?”

“A war of attrition.” Weiss remembered that Professor Port had lectured on that very subject not too long ago.

“Wrong, finding a way to strike a definitive blow is far preferable, and a war of attrition is incredibly dangerous. It is only a last resort with which that kind of approach is taken.” Pyrrha snapped the book shut closely. “It appears that you may have missed a portion of Port’s lecture.”

Weiss distinctly recalled that she had been passing notes with her partners during that lecture. Oops. “Indeed.” 

Pyrrha’s attitude was only a little bit teasing as they went over the remainder of the chapter together, stopping only when it was necessary to eat dinner.


End file.
